Danganronpa: Yamanuha
by SHSL Coder
Summary: Entry #1: Hello. This is not my first journal entry, but I have lost my old journal, and it seems apt to start over. You see, a lot's happened, recently... I woke up in a city called "Yamanuha" earlier today, with no memory of how I arrived. And I'm being forced to play a death game with other Ultimate students. This is evidence of our quite unbelievable situation. [SYOC Closed]
1. Entry 273

_December 30th, 201X_

 _Entry #273_

Good morning, journal. Or anyone else on the off chance my writing happens to go public, I suppose.

The new year is about to start in just under 48 hours, and this one is closing on quite the interesting note: today, I received a letter from Hope's Peak Academy. Apparently, they heard about my, ah, stunt this summer. I believe I discussed it in further detail previously, within the first hundred entries of this personal journal of mine, but I am of course referring to the closure of the conflict between the Fukuhara clan and my own. Hope's Peak has dedicated this victory to myself and decided it would be wise to label me the "Ultimate Peacekeeper" as a result. To be frank, I think it's too cheesy of a title, and almost inaccurate. As far as I'm aware, the word "peace" tends not to be the first one when people think of Yakuza like myself. However, I will not argue with the scouters of Hope's Peak, and accept my position as a student in the new year. Even if my title is ridiculously embarrassing — I would have better appreciated "Ultimate Yakuza", or something like that. Though that's not an original title, I suppose…

Ah, well.

I'm sure things will turn out alright at this school. I have high hopes, and past entries should indicate that this is a rare occasion. I seem to often have a problem overthinking these types of things, which really shouldn't be happening; I turned 17 only last month, after all. But I suppose it's things like that that prompted me to begin a journal in the first place.

Oh, hang on, I'm forgetting something. There was one more thing, included in the envelope sent to my residence today. An information form. It seems fairly standard, asking for a few personal details before you attend the school. Paperwork is all. For the time being, I will copy the form into this document, so that I can fill it out here. I would rather type it before writing it all in pen, you see…

* * *

 **[ ... ]**

* * *

Strange form, isn't it? Quite long as well. It might take me hours to finish this, what were they thinking? Having their Ultimate students fill out such an inconvenient piece of paper? Bah. I suppose I'll have to take a crack at it soon.

The nice thing about this school is, according to this damned letter anyway, each class roster is posted on their website, so long as you log in with a mishmash of letters and numbers generated for each individual student. I've managed to type my own username and password into my laptop just now and _immediately_ checked off the "remember password" prompt as I refuse to type this out a second time. Mainly out of curiosity's sake, I will keep an eye on this website, and update this document with the full roster once it exists.

* * *

 **Final Roster**

 **1\. Hiroto Ryuzaki - Ultimate Peacekeeper [SHSL Coder]**

 **2\. Theia Mikaelsson - Ultimate DJ [Kuwatermelon]**

 **3\. Hideaki Ishikura - Ultimate Graffiti Artist [Hexcav-Lio]**

 **4\. Akihiro Ito - Ultimate Lawyer [Birdley]**

 **5\. Ashlynn White - Ultimate Pole Dancer [Pretty Palutena]**

 **6\. Mariko Kuroshiro - Ultimate Hypnotherapist [liammarklh88]**

 **7\. Yukina Mizushima - Ultimate Vocalist [DarkRubySparks]**

 **8\. Fumie Chizuru - Ultimate Gambler [CrimsonSkyTamer]**

 **9\. Kei Mikaku - Ultimate Conspirator [mayurie]**

 **10\. Yoshio Natsumura - Ultimate Firefighter [Sendokai . Zak]**

 **11\. Akuma Buredo - Ultimate Street Fighter [Revolution921]**

 **12\. Elliot Miller - Ultimate Comic Book Writer [IronYokai]**

 **13\. Marine Roux - Ultimate Information Broker [BillyBioBob]**

 **14\. Warren Graves - Ultimate Neurologist [Strong Style Publications]**

 **15.** **Mizuki Akiyama - Ultimate Eye Model [CandiedStars]**

 **16\. Tsutomu Kiyomizu - Ultimate Toxicologist [zephryr]**

 **17\. Kazuya Watanabe - Ultimate Horror Author [TJMike]**

 **18\. Ada-Marie Christina Talbot - Ultimate Historian [TheRoseShadow21]**

 **19\. Lucille DuCarde - Ultimate F-1 Racer [dashunterman]**

* * *

 **[A/N 12/07/2018: Huge thank you to everyone who submitted! This story is, literally, by definition, impossible without that.]**


	2. chapter 0-0

**[A/N: This story will most likely have spoilers for the Danganronpa games, including V3. Not this chapter, but soon enough.]**

* * *

" _This is fuckin' ridiculous. Why are we sitting around listening to this kid?"_

" _Hey, watch your mouth! Who do you think you're talking about? That 'kid' is the Ultimate Peacekeeper!"_

" _Tch. I don't care what civilians call him. All he did was get the Fukuharas off your ass and wave the debts they owed. He made your clan look weak!"_

" _H-Hang on, please, both of you. If we can't make a deal, that's okay, but please, just hear me out for a second—"_

" _Get lost, kid. I'm surprised your clan hasn't disowned you for the shit you did. Even in war, we used to respect the Ryuzaki family… you don't deserve to have anything to do with it."_

* * *

 **chapter 0-0**

* * *

Human bodies are capable of more than we tend to realize.

Subconsciously, we record things that we don't even think about — except, that's the thing. We _are_ thinking about these things, it's just not always in our conscience, where thoughts are translated into words.

When you go to bed at night, you know what the mattress is going to feel like. You don't think, "my bed is going to feel soft but firm enough to support my back". Or maybe you do, but likely not on a nightly basis. You probably aren't considering the levels of temperature, humidity, ventilation, or what the insulation is like, but you know it all well, even when the levels vary.

What I'm trying to say is, if you wake up in a room where not a single one of these conditions is remotely the same as what you're used to, it's going to be a rude awakening.

This is something I'm well aware of. From experience.

Several red flags had arisen in my brain before my eyelids had the opportunity to open. Once they did, it was confirmed: I awoke in a completely unfamiliar room. To make matters worse, I felt sick for a moment, as if white noise and static had consumed every groove of my brain.

Eventually, my vision corrected itself and the swirl the world had tangled itself up in returned to its normal state. Other sensory functions came online around the same time, and I found myself sunken into a soft bed, with my head resting on a pillow that seemingly also decided to trade support for comfort. The sheets I laid on were icy under my hands, and I spotted the comforter folded up at the bed's end. I craned my head to survey the area and learned I was in a small bedroom with the door shut and curtains drawn. There were a few things of note: a white leather sofa sat in front of the burgundy curtains to my left; in front of me a mahogany shelf with a flat screen TV placed above, and a door adjacent to it; and lastly, a closet and yet another closed door on my right. I thought it was a luxurious room which nearly convinced my nerves that things were okay.

' _You do realize you've probably been kidnapped, right?'_

It took me a moment of self-reflection to realize that I was probably kidnapped.

' _You really are a high profile target, Hiro. The least you can do is get out of the damn bed and take a look around.'_

I sighed. Kidnappings _do_ happen from time to time in my line of work. Though I am yet to hear of a case where the victim wakes up in a beautiful bedroom.

Regardless, I swung my legs over the bed and noticed I was not dressed to be sleeping, but seemingly for some sort of special occasion. I recognized the tight-fitting clothing I wore as my own, a simple black-on-white dress shirt I recently ironed tucked into a pair of black slacks. Not as flashy as what those around me wear, but it was good enough for me. Still, what the hell was I doing _sleeping_ in an outfit like this?

' _Hiro. Idiot. Don't tell me you think any of this was your choice.'_

Right. My inner thoughts win again, though I'm not sure how to feel about the hypocritical name-calling.

I placed my feet on the tan-colored carpet, which had a cozy feel through the thin black socks I wore. Again, I was given a false sense of comfort, which made me want to get a pair of shoes on right away. I decided I would first investigate the doors, starting with the one on my right. It was a dark wooden build, matching with the rest of the color scheme. The doorknob turned with ease.

I was graciously not greeted with the sight of my captor and a dozen gun barrels, but rather, a bathroom. I stepped inside onto the light brown tiled floor and took a brief look about. The two far corners were smaller rooms blocked off for privacy, one with a glass door for the shower, and one with a white door for use of the toilet. A few different robes were hung up on said door. In front of the far wall, in between the two doors, were both washing and drying machines with a few cleaning products sitting on a rack above. The bathtub was alongside the left wall, underneath a towel rack, and opposite to it, a mirror and sink combo extending the length of the wall, undoubtedly for group makeup and grooming sessions.

I went to stand in front of it, placing my palms over the edge of the counter and leaning forward to face my reflection. Honestly, I was looking good.

' _No. That's probably just the lighting. Look again, your hair is fucked up and… your face just looks kinda weird, actually.'_

I frowned and indeed looked again. It was true that my hair was quite the mess. As for my face, I didn't notice this straight away, but something _did_ feel a tad off about it. It almost looked as if I lost the slightest bit of baby fat around my cheeks — not that I had a lot to begin with, but my cheekbones and jawline were just slightly more pronounced than I remember them being. I eventually decided to blame it on the lighting, and run a hand through my short yet unkempt hair. I did my best to flatten the random strands jumping out for freedom. Once I was happy with it, I gave myself another look in the mirror.

' _I suppose I'm not taking this too seriously, huh?'_

' _Well, that's not necessarily true, this is a really strange situation. I should keep searching, but I should be careful… my concern about staring down the barrel of a gun earlier is relatively justified, considering my identity.'_

' _My identity as_ _ **Hiroto Ryuzaki, the Ultimate Peacekeeper.**_ '

' _It must be who I am that led to this. Remember, I'm a Yakuza, heir to the throne of the Ryuzaki clan to be specific. And I've been using this talent of mine to piss some people off lately.'_

' _So, yeah. There's likely someone out there who wants me dead. Or use me for ransom. But that's been the case for a long time.'_

' _I'll just have to use my words if I find my captor. That's… not something that's worked lately, but… it's how I was scouted for Hope's Peak Academy, so that shouldn't be a problem, right?'_

' _Okay. Let's keep moving. I should open the other door in the bedroom.'_

I took a deep breath to signal the end of an extended thinking session. Having visualized my next move, I was ready to execute it.

I was pleased to learn the other door opened as easily as that of the bathroom's. Nevertheless, adrenaline was starting to fill every vein in my body as I began to better understand the weight of my circumstances. My footwork was light as I stepped through the doorway and into an empty living room. I had my head on a swivel as I examined the area for any other person, but it was soon apparent that I was alone. The living room followed the same scheme of warm colors, carpeting, and wooden shelving. Directly to the left of the bedroom door was an area with a sofa and yet another TV. In front of the sofa was a coffee table with two chairs facing the center, and on either side, tall lamps illuminating the room with a warm light. Curtains covered the wall next to it (which would be adjacent with the curtains in the bedroom, should the wall separating the rooms not have existed).

' _Curtains… there must be windows on the other side. I'll take a look in a few moments to try to get my bearings.'_

East of the bedroom's door was a bigger table with a few chairs around it, which I assumed was for dining at. Notably, there was a card resting on the surface, and I picked it up to inspect it. It was a plastic card with a two-tone design of each vertical half being either black or white, and on one end was an arrow spanning across both halves made up of their respective inverted shades. There was a magnetic strip across the back, and the totality of this information led me to believe it was a keycard. This gave me the idea that I may have been inside a hotel room the entire time.

' _Why a hotel? Why would my captor leave the key? What hotel does this key even belong to…?'_

The monochrome design was off-putting for reasons I couldn't explain. Looking at the card instilled an inexplicable sense of dread within me.

Frowning, I go to take out my wallet so I can hang onto the card. My hand comes back out with something that is clearly not a wallet, but rather, what seems to be a smartphone.

' _Huh? I never keep my phone in that p… this isn't even mine. Wait, where is it, then?'_

I instantly reached into my other pocket and, disturbingly, found nothing. I froze in place for a moment, patting my pockets repeatedly, as if I hadn't just proved they were empty.

Turns out I was missing both my phone and my wallet.

Well, this situation got a hell of a lot more interesting, didn't it?

"Motherf…" I started, though I cut myself off, realizing I spoke out loud. I opted for a loud sigh instead. Still, I moved on, and looked at the unfamiliar phone that had been sitting in my pocket the entire time. I didn't recognize the brand, nor was I able to even find a brand logo anywhere on the device. The silver casing felt cheap in my hand and the whole thing was far lighter than any phone I was used to. I'm also used to having a case on my phones, so the back side's lack of any texture made me worry that if I jerked my hand the wrong way it would slip out and fly across the room. I pressed the single button on top of the phone.

The word 'Monopad' flashed on the screen in a video game style eight-bit font. I guessed that was the brand, and I wondered if it was for kids. Once it finished loading, an array of icons appeared, although I was unable to identify most of them as they were greyed out. The only one that wasn't greyed out appeared to be a settings app, and I tapped on it to see what would happen. Another list of options appeared on the small screen. The only one available was called 'Dress Up', which allowed me to change the colors used by the device. A personalization option of some kind. I confusedly backed out of the menu and started tapping at the other icons, but an error noise blared through the speakers each time. I ended up with more questions about the thing than answers, though if anything, I was beginning to feel sure that it wasn't a phone at all. In a sense, I learned _something_. But why was it in my pocket?

' _It had to have been deliberately placed there by someone else. That isn't up for debate.'_

' _But, by who? And why? Am I expected to use this in some capacity? That wouldn't explain why everything is greyed out… maybe now isn't the time to use it.'_

' _What am I saying? I'll never use it. I'm just going to get out of here.'_

Despite my resolution to continue looking for my way out, I pocketed the 'Monopad' just in case. Perhaps I'll turn it into the police as evidence if things really get out of hand here.

When I went back to looking around the room, I found… more doors. I felt as if I already had my fair share of opening doors.

One was in actuality nothing more than a doorway, which led to a small kitchen. There was nothing noteworthy except for the fact that, again, nobody was around. The expected amenities such as plates, utensils, and cooking equipment were scattered around. I suppose it's interesting that the fridge was completely empty, though that was it. I quickly turned around and investigated the next door. This one simply refused to open.

' _Oh? Finally, a locked door. Things were too normal to be, well, normal. I bet this is the way out.'_

I examined the door for a moment, and noticed that it had a sliding locking mechanism from this side. I disengaged it and attempted to open the door once more, but it remained locked.

' _Is there a lock on both sides of this door? Huh.'_

On the direct opposite wall, another door was the exact same. It too had a sliding lock and did not open.

I took a mental note of the two locked doors and moved on. The room began to concave in towards the last door, which I saw had more locks on it than the last. Some sort of tag hung off the knob, with the same monochromatic scheme as the Monopad. In red eight-bit text read the words 'DO NOT DISTURB'. This all but confirmed my thoughts that I woke up in a hotel room, but… if _this_ is the way out, what is the other door for?

That didn't really matter in the end, I supposed. I took a deep breath before I approached the final door.

' _My captor could be on the other side. Or captors, plural. I guess I'm about to find out. Of course, that is assuming the door opens.'_

Another breath later, I went to work disengaging the three different types of locks on the door. It only took a few moments.

I took a tight grip to the doorknob, turned it with ease, and pulled it wide open.

The door opened easily, in fact. I was faced with a long hallway of suites and a red carpet with intricate yellow designs separating the two sides. It seemed to be void of life. To make sure, I briefly leaned outside and turned my head from side to side. Nobody. I was ready to get out of the room, break into a sprint to find the elevator and get out.

' _Elevator…'_

At that point, I realized two things.

Firstly, I was unaware of what floor I was on. I wondered if I was at a vantage point I could use to find out where I was.

Secondly, I still lacked shoes. If I was dressed in such neat clothes to begin with, then I should have had a pair around somewhere. Also, I should not leave without taking a look inside the closet, anyway.

Perhaps I should have been considering this an emergency situation, but something told me to relax for a moment and investigate. Although, I've been told that this behavior is characteristic for me. It's not like me to act without gathering as much information as I possibly could, and I felt that was a necessity if I wanted to get home safe.

And so, I stepped back and let the door close.

' _It's fine… it'll open again once I'm ready to leave. At least I know where the door is, now.'_

' _It'll take me less time to examine the closet, so I'll go back into the bedroom first.'_

The wardrobe was a tall piece of furniture, with the dark wood twisting and turning along the edges with fanciful designs carved in. I still wanted to get this investigation over with as fast as I could, so I was unfortunately not able to appreciate the build. I gripped the two handles and pulled open the doors.

I noticed the closet was full of clothing, so I was first inclined to believe I was intruding on someone else's wardrobe. However, that didn't sit right with me, so once I took a hand to file through the hanging shirts and jackets, I realized that I was familiar with it all. In fact, every piece of clothing in here was mine. I recognized each polka-dot and striped shirt, I remembered each blazer by the time I had them tailored, how each tie around my collar nearly feels able to crush my airway. Even some of my casual clothing was in the closet — jeans were hung up, polos and t-shirts folded in a shelf underneath. Athletic wear. Shorts. Pajamas. Socks. Boxers. Shoes, as I had been looking for. Hats I hadn't worn in years. Winter coats.

' _What the hell is all this? I never pack like this when I travel.'_

Most of the time, I'm underpacking, if anything. But there were things in this closet that had previously sat unworn in mine. It was like I moved out, and had to take everything with me.

' _No, that can't be right. I wouldn't move out of the Ryuzaki house. It's practically our headquarters, no one ever does.'_

' _I suppose I'd have to if we had to run away from something… though, I find it hard to believe I would forget about something like that. It's also strange that I'm alone. Perhaps I was separated from the other members? Or they're simply out of the room?'_

' _Well, all of this is ignoring the kidnapping perspective, but that seems unlikely, now that I've seen this. After all, that would suggest someone robbed the Ryuzaki house. That's impossible.'_

' _...'_

' _Perhaps I shouldn't be thinking of how this is all here, but why. Why is there so much of my clothing in here? Am I expected to stay here for a long time?'_

This was all very unsettling. If I could help it, I wouldn't be spending another five minutes in the room before leaving and not coming back. I sighed once more, disappointed with my inability to draw any conclusions on the matter. However, there was nothing I could do. It meant I would have to continue on.

I crouched down to inspect the shoes. Each individual shoe was placed onto a plastic holder to keep its shape, much like what I had in my room back home. I found a pair of black oxfords that were slightly creased due to the fact that they were my comfortable, go-to shoes. I slipped them on and closed the dual doors as my concern rose more and more. It took a lot out of me to resist letting fear impair my decisions and sprint out of the room, but I had to keep investigating. I couldn't allow myself to give the fear any attention. I had to keep moving before I thought about it too much.

The next step was to return to the living room so I could take a look outside. I was hoping I would be able to see through the window and identify landmarks to find out where the hell I am. I pulled back the curtains in a swift motion.

' _!'_

 _What the hell…?'_

It was difficult to see through the window, however, there was a glass door built in that led to a balcony. It opened with ease.

I was greeted with the cool sensation of a night's breeze as I slowly stepped out onto the balcony, walking right up to the silver guardrail and looking across the scenery before me. I was who-knows-how-many stories above a wide, tightly-packed cityscape. It was a jungle of concrete and neon lights, which is what I was used to in Tokyo, but something was clearly off about it all. Despite the lights illuminating the darkened evening sky suggesting a city that never sleeps, it was ear-splittingly silent. I remained on the balcony for a while, and the whole time I heard nothing but the wind as it wrapped itself around me, shifting the fabric of my shirt. I didn't see a single car on the streets. No car horns, no running engines, no siren of an ambulance rushing to a scene. No lights in the sky to indicate a passing helicopter or airplane.

It was like I was the last person left in this city. Whoever I'm expecting to see, isn't here. Everybody left a long time ago.

I stood on the balcony for a while, letting the wind pass through my hair and around me. I was unable to make anything of it. I could only stand perfectly still as my body went cold from either the wind or shock.

' _Hu… huh…?'_

' _...'_

' _This… this is on a larger scale than I thought, isn't it…?'_

' _Where the fuck is everyone!?'_

As if on cue, the unmistakable sound of a glass door sliding open suddenly pierced my ears. Faster than I remember ever moving, I shifted my body to the balcony on my right.

I saw a girl walk out onto the balcony next to mine. She had to be at least a foot shorter than me, ginger hair in a bob cut with bangs covering her forehead. Her mouth was covered by a white procedural mask, and she was dressed in a long, collared jacket of the same shade with a belt around the waist. The mask and this angle made it hard for me to tell, but it looked as if she was surprised as well.

"H- Hey!" I called out to her, quickly moving over to the edge of my balcony and leaning over it. "Who- what… what's…?" I tried to communicate with her, but I lost my voice.

She turned to me with her eyes widened, probably startled. There was a brief pause, and I took it to mean she was trying to collect her thoughts as well.

"Are you alright?" she ends up asking.

"Wha- no!" I replied. I shot out a hand to gesture to the city before us. "What the hell is this!? Where am I? What—"

"I don't know," the girl cut me short, and then turned back to look at the city. "I don't remember coming here."

' _Huh?'_

My train of thoughts was finally stopped.

"Neither do I," I said.

"That's troublesome…"

"That it is," I agreed. I rubbed the bridge of my nose for a moment. "You don't remember anything at all, is that right?"

For a moment, she didn't reply. She stood perfectly still, staring out at the lights.

"Hey! Are you listening?" I asked to get her attention, though I unintentionally raised my voice more than necessary.

"Oh, excuse me. Yes, that's right," she then said, "what about yourself?" she asked and turned back to me.

' _I guess she has a thing about spacing out…'_

I nodded in response, and thought about my most recent memories. "I'm afraid I don't have a concrete 'last memory', either. I know the new school year had just started."

As I said that, a lightbulb went off in my mind, and I looked at the girl more attentively. Her hair, that mask, and that jacket. She gave me a confused look until I said, "Wait a minute. _Theia?_ "

She looked relieved. "Ah, you're Mister Ryuzaki, aren't you!" Her gloved hands clasped together in triumph.

' _Oh, shit.'_

I realized that I knew who this was, standing on the balcony. That was a _classmate._ I also realized that she seemed to know who I was, and I only just then recognized her.

My memories started to unravel themselves as I relaxed a bit more. I had vague memories of attending my classes at Hope's Peak, if only for the first few days. I remembered meeting everyone in my class. I remembered that on the first day, a few of us decided to meet up after school to get to know one other better. This girl was there, and we introduced ourselves. She saw a nice tree and spaced out then, too.

' _How the hell did I forget that!? I'm usually great with faces! Perhaps I'm letting my nerves get the best of me.'_

The girl that stood before me was **Theia Mikaelsson, the Ultimate DJ.**

"Yes, you're right," I answered her. "I apologize. I didn't recognize you. My mind is… not functioning, at the moment."

This elicited a laugh from the DJ, slightly muffled by the procedural mask. "It's okay, I wasn't sure either. Do you remember walking around campus on the first day?"

"Of course. At least, now I do. Dammit, I usually perform better than this under pressure," I said with the umpteenth sigh of the night.

Theia's face grew serious, suddenly. At least, I believe it did, her mask made it hard to tell. "Mister Ryuzaki, do you know what this means?"

' _Why does she keep calling me that?'_

"Sorry? What does what mean?" I asked, not knowing what this means.

"That we are both here, without our memories. There may be more of us," Theia stated with her eyebrows drawn together.

"You mean our classmates?" I asked.

"Yes," she nodded, "we should try to find them. They might know what's happening."

"You're right. But there were too many of us to be kidnapped like this, don't you think?"

"Yes, well…"

Theia trailed off and looked back towards the city. I understood why.

"You noticed the same thing as I did, huh?" I said, mimicking her movements to gaze down at the streets.

"There is clearly something wrong here, Mister Ryuzaki. We cannot draw any conclusions just yet."

' _Yeah, she's right.'_

"Alright, then," I said as I turned back to the glass door behind me. "Come on. We should get moving."

"Let's," Theia agreed.

I put two fingers to my forehead and offered a quick salute to send us off. I watched her disappear into the room she came from, and I re-entered mine.

' _This was already a baffling situation, but many layers were added in the last couple of minutes, hm?'_

' _The city is empty. Even though this appears to be such a substantially-sized metropolitan area, even though all the lights are on, nobody is here.'_

' _Well, not necessarily. Theia's here. One of my classmates. The others could be here too — anything is possible. Like she said, we can't draw any conclusions right now.'_

' _But that's not even close to the end of my concerns… what about my memory? It's still blurry. I still cannot say for sure what the last thing I did was. In fact, I had to think on it to remember attending Hope's Peak at all.'_

' _Then there are the strange objects I found: the Monopad and that black and white keycard. Why do I feel this dread whenever I think about them?'_

' _Of course, there is that closet, looking as if I'm here to stay for the rest of my life.'_

' _Hah.'_

' _Unlikely.'_

' _I don't know where I am, but I'll get out of here.'_

"I'll get out of here."

I repeated those words under my breath over and over as I walked back through the room and towards the front door.

' _I'll find whoever is responsible for this. And I'll convince them to let us go.'_

' _I'll expose them, so whoever put us in this peculiar state of affairs, can never do it again. Not to us, or to anyone else…'_

' _...that's my job as the Ultimate Peacekeeper.'_

With a newfound resolve, I gripped the doorknob and pulled the door open once more.

* * *

 **[A/N: Hello all! It's Coder with... a chapter, before the roster is out? Honestly, this was meant to just be a little teaser, but I decided "eh screw it" and went with a proper update. This is, more or less, the beginning. The awakening chapter. We have been better introduced to our protagonist, learning more about his personality, and a bit about his background if you squint. A new character has also been brought in: Theia Mikaelsson, Ultimate DJ. Fun fact, her and Ryuzaki originate from an RP and were the best of buds. Hence why she's been accepted into the roster right away.**

 **Don't take that to mean there's more competition. I'm still taking submissions, and currently, I don't have a limit on how large the roster will be. I will decide this once I have enough OCs to work with, so go ahead and send them in! Remember: the more detailed, the better!**

 **I also wanted to do a shameless plug and point out that if any of y'all want to talk or whatever, you can hit me up on tumblr. Url is shsl-coder. So hmu. I'm considering taking writing requests there sometime in the future as well, so follow if that's something you're interested in.**

 **That's all for now. Again, I'm still accepting OCs. Take a look at the bottom of the first chapter to see what talents have already been submitted (doesn't mean you can't submit one of the same, but you'd have better chances otherwise).]**


	3. chapter -1-1

**[A/N: Hello all! I'm writing this note after a random computer crash, so bear with me if it's short. I'm mildly salty. But anyway, I have a chapter here! I apologize for the long wait, but what had happened was I was writing chapter 0-1, before making a decision to change things up. I wasn't happy with where it was going. So, I modified the plot slightly, and now I have: chapter -1-1. Part 1 of chapter -1. I'll elaborate at the end of the chapter.**

 **I will be replying to reviews at the beginning of each update in the first author's note, beginning now. I'll show you what that looks like.**

 **TheRoseShadow21: Hey, thanks for reading. I see you in this fandom a lot so I appreciate that you took interest.**

 **GaoGod: I'm kinda surprised that didn't happen, tbh. But I'm happy with the forms I received.**

 **RedReaper7: Not at all! As I mentioned before, I did some rewriting, and tbh I tend to take time with my writing. Each update is like a slow cooked meal. (I wrote that before my computer crashed, and I like that analogy enough that I'm using it again.)**

 **Well, enjoy the chapter. See you in the closing notes later on.]**

* * *

 **Decades-Long Yakuza War Comes to an End**

— _Aug. 3 201X_

Reportedly, peace talks have been taking place between the _Ryuzaki-gumi_ and the _Fukuhara-gumi_ over recent weeks. As of yesterday, high-ranking members have agreed to end the war that has costed thousands of dollars and caused several fatal and nonfatal shootings since its inception.

The two clans have been in the public eye for most of the twentieth century. The _Ryuzaki-gumi_ is the longer-running of the two, as it was established in the late nineteenth century and the _Fukuhara-gumi_ in the 1930s. It is also believed to hold far more wealth and have a force of over eighteen thousand active members, trailing just behind the _Yamaguchi-gumi,_ the largest organized crime syndicate in Japan _._ The _Ryuzaki_ family had a spike in popularity in 1983 with the release of a record-breaking film about the gangsters' lifestyles, though since 1991 there has been a slight decline in membership, likely due to increased police crackdowns.

In spite of the _Ryuzaki-gumi's_ power, one of their members is credited with initiating peace talks with the _Fukuhara-gumi._ The eldest son of the main bloodline spoke with us. He requested to keep his name private.

"The first meeting was terrifying, to tell you the truth," he said, "We agreed to hold it in a public place. I hoped it would prevent any violence, but it was still worrying. Thankfully, the _Fukuhara-gumi_ was cooperative throughout the entire process."

He explains why he did it:

"I'd actually met a member of the _Fukuhara-gumi_ before. My age. Technically, we weren't supposed to be talking, but we discussed what it was like in our respective families. We agreed that neither of our clans were as violent as we had thought initially and the war is useless. It endangers society in Japan for no reason. The massive media response has been unexpected, however."

He states that while this is a victory for the families involved and for Japan's safety as a whole, there is still work to do. From this point, it is now up to his superiors to negotiate untied knots with the _Fukuhara-gumi._

"On the ride home, I was told that I have 'excellent people skills'," he recalled with a laugh, "If that's the case, then I would like to use them more. See, most people don't know about the _Fukuhara-gumi._ They know about our more recent, perhaps more violent rival: the _Matsushita-kai._ I would like to engage in similar talks with them in the future."

This is unprecedented behavior for a member of the _Ryuzaki-gumi,_ especially for one with this role. He spends the vast majority of his time preparing to take the reins from his father, as is the tradition since the birth of the Yakuza clan.

The chief of the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department commented that the streets will be safer as a result, but crackdowns will not stop now.

"Let this be clear: this did not happen because these criminal organizations suddenly wanted peace," he stated in a press release this morning, "This is a sign that the _Ryuzaki_ and _Fukuhara_ gangs are weakening because of sustained pressure from police action. We will continue to pursue suspected Yakuza."

Close to 500 active members of the _Ryuzaki-gumi_ have been arrested since January. Our contact with the family, who began the peace talks with the _Fukuhara-gumi,_ declined to comment on its membership.

"I'm not here to discuss the internals of my clan. I'm here to let people know they can worry less about Yakuza violence from now on," he said.

* * *

 **chapter -1-1**

* * *

At any given moment, I was always ready to leave my home. It would only be in the case of emergency, of course. Raids, whether they were from police or another clan, were always possible. In all the years I stayed there, it never happened once. I suppose it was known that we were capable of retaliation.

Regardless, I didn't expect that I would one day move out of my own will, with packed suitcases and all. But today is that day. Thankfully, I wasn't alone.

"Alright, remember Hiro," my sister said from my side, already dressed in her uniform shipped out from Hope's Peak a week prior. We'd been dragging our suitcases across the ground's limestone surface. "You have to come visit the Reserve Course building after school tomorrow. We've gotta tell each other all about our first day. Well, _you've_ gotta tell _me_ about the Main Course, I mean."

Her enthusiasm was as contagious as always, and I was almost excited as well. This was Chika Ryuzaki, and frankly, my one true confidant in the clan. I was close with my other siblings as well — who were waiting for us already — but Chika is my twin, so perhaps that had something to do with it. She did look like me in most aspects; below average height, slim build, black hair, brown eyes. Well, no, brown _eye_ would be more accurate.

I looked at her and sighed. "I really do apologize that you have to go to school with that thing over your eye."

"What, this? It's no big deal, y'know. Could've been worse." Chika casually lifted the white, medical eyepatch that had been sitting over her left eye since earlier this year. There was a scar underneath, and while the sight of it may have fazed most, I was more surprised by the fact that she removed the patch in public. I noted that it seemed to be healing well.

"You are aware you were shot in the eye, yes?"

"Oh, I am, trust me. But it's not your fault. You didn't know the talks with the Matsushitas would end up like that… you did a really cool thing, trying to make things better."

Chika's optimism was something I'd never be able to understand. Perhaps that was why I was particularly close with her.

It was a quiet early morning then. Most of the city was still sleeping or about to begin the morning rush shortly. There wasn't much to hear except for the frequent chirping of birds signifying that the dreary winter was now in its final act, and the wheels to our suitcases rolling on the uneven ground. The air was cool and crisp even through the long, light grey coat I was wearing. As we kept moving, the smell of chlorine invaded my nostrils as the fountain in our front entrance came into view.

"Aw, this is the last time we'll see this for a while, huh?" Chika commented when we passed by, pausing with a look of nostalgia. The four of us spent a lot of our childhoods playing around the thing.

"Ah, we'll be back for the summer," I replied.

"Yeah. I still can't believe we're leaving, even if it's for a short while," she said, looking up behind me. I turned to follow her gaze toward the mansion we spent our entire lives in up to that point.

"I agree."

I glanced down at my watch. We weren't late yet, but it was getting to be about that time. Chika and I said our farewells to the house and continued through the front gates.

We were greeted by the street out front, which expanded in both directions horizontally connecting a maze of homes of similar stature to our own. A black, luxury limousine was parked close by, with the driver standing by its open trunk. Our parents were talking to someone through an open window. When the driver noticed us and came to help us with the luggage, they turned to us.

My father, dressed in a black suit as usual with the sunglasses to match, gave me a smile that wrinkled most of his dried skin. His smiles were strange; I often had a hard time telling if they were genuine. I had a hunch that this one was. He said, "I'm proud of you both."

"Really. Hiro, you've been recognized for everything you've done for us… I'm upset you're leaving now, maybe you'd be a pretty great member 'til you take over for me," he said with a grin.

"I'm sure. Both of you would be," our mother said.

"Well, Hiro's the one called the 'Peacekeeper', soooo…" Chika pointed out, trailing off on purpose.

' _All this praise…'_

' _What the hell are they doing, anyway? I mean, look at Chika. I got her shot because I mistakenly thought those peace talks would go well.'_

' _I don't… I don't deserve this title.'_

' _I don't deserve this praise.'_

' _I…'_

"Thank you," I managed to get out.

We conversed on that note for a little while longer before it was finally time to go.

"Hey, listen," my father said, "if anything goes wrong, let me know. Any teachers give you shit, let me know, alright?" He can be overprotective. Maybe it was part of his own upbringing in this clan.

"Understood," I responded.

"Oh, lighten up. 'Understood'. C'mon now. You aren't gonna make any friends like that."

"I always try to tell him that and he never listens," Chika pouts.

"I… suppose it's natural for me, then," I said, unsure of what to say.

"Hey!"

A head popped out of the limo's open window.

"I'm gonna pass out back here, dude!" my brother complained, "Get in already!"

"Yeah! Don't you know Katsu has never been awake this early in his life!?" I heard my other, younger sister shout from inside as well. This was followed by bickering, as expected from them. They're very much not the mature ones.

With that, our parents let us go. The luggage was in the back and everything was ready.

Before I stepped into the limo, I couldn't help but take another look at the property. Really, it was the representation of the privileges I had in life, when I thought about it. So was the fact that once I received my invitation from Hope's Peak Academy, all _three_ of my siblings were instantly enrolled into the Reserve Course. I had to question how much tuition costs were altogether.

' _Ah, well… not much I can do about that.'_

' _It's time to go. The next chapter in my life begins today.'_

' _Well — classes start tomorrow, actually. So maybe not yet.'_

' _Dammit, that was nearly a nice, dramatic moment Hiro.'_

I smiled at the exchange that just occurred inside my head, and left this life behind (temporarily) with a two-finger salute as I climbed into the limo. The chauffeur closed the door behind me.

"I saw that salute. Y'know, you took that from me."

My brother was sitting rather comfortably, grinning as he poked fun at me as soon as I got inside the car. This was not unprecedented behavior for Katsu. He'd take every possible opportunity to embarrass all of us. However, even though his ego prevents him from saying it, I know he'd do anything for us at the same time. I admit that his tracksuit and unkempt hair didn't make him look very dependable though.

"Katsu, you know you could've gotten a haircut, right?" I ask offhandedly, moving to find a seat. The car began to roll away shortly after.

He waved me off, rolling his eyes. "Pah. I've got all my products. Give me a few minutes in front of a mirror and I'll make it work."

"Hope you packed better clothing as well," I joked.

"Bro, I _guarantee_ that by tomorrow I'll be the talk of the whole Reserve Course with my fit tonight," he boasted.

"Really now? And where do you plan on going tonight?" asked my other sister, the younger one. Tokiko. If I had to describe her in one word, it would be 'troll', even more so than Katsu. She also decided to wear her uniform early, though she apparently opted to leave the shirt untucked and the collar open. Her hair, longer than the rest of ours combined, was at least in a better condition than Katsu's.

"Out," was my brother's simple response to her.

"Oh~? With who? Gonna find a date on move-in day?" Tokiko teased.

"Maybe I will. I know some people there already."

"Wait, what?" Tokiko was shocked. She laughed in disbelief before continuing, "How the hell do you know anyone from Hope's Peak?"

"Man, I got connections, y'know?" Katsu shot back.

I realized that Chika was awfully quiet, and when I looked over, I saw her staring out the window with a pair of headphones in.

I was jealous. I was worried this might be a long ride, and with these two going back and forth, it was all but confirmed. I tried my best to tune them out.

.

.

.

Things moved fast after that. Turns out it wasn't as far as I'd been expecting, though the size of it all certainly exceeded what I was imagining.

I tried to stay positive — I had every reason to be, being a student of Hope's Peak Academy for crying out loud — but somehow, I was only reminded of the unexpected nature surrounding my Ultimate talent, and I felt… undeserving. I wondered if there was someone else; perhaps _not_ an active member of one of the largest yakuza clans in Japan, who would be a better fit for the title of 'Peacekeeper'.

Those were my thoughts as I walked through campus after the first set of classes. My mind was cloudy like the growingly dark skies above. I was on my way to somewhere off-campus Chika and I could meet, but I had to pause. I wasn't interested in seeing anyone in such a gloomy state. I noticed a few benches shadowed by old trees and bright green shrubbery surrounding them, so I ducked into the area and took a seat for a moment.

' _...This can't keep up. You should be well aware of this.'_

I was. Keenly.

' _At the end of the day, you're still recognized as the Peacekeeper. There isn't anything you can do about that.'_

I was reminding myself of what I already knew, under the assumption that thinking about them this time around would somehow change things. In reality, nothing was different. Sighing, I switched gears and decided to try meditating for a moment, in spite of all the noise around me.

Then I switched gears again when I noticed somebody else standing close by. I'd immediately recognized her as a classmate. She was standing perfectly still, staring at a notably huge tree with intent. It was a beautiful yet powerful work of nature, and I couldn't blame her for spacing out.

' _Well… Maybe I should say something. I'll be seeing her around a lot, I imagine. And a little interaction might help.'_

"Excuse me," I called out from the girl's side, "Sorry to bother you, but I believe we're in the same class?"

It took her a moment to react and I felt bad for taking her out of her zone. The pause was almost audible before she replied, "Yes, we are. I recognize you from earlier today."

I finally stood up off the bench. It was more instinctual than anything, but I offered her a hand to shake and introduced myself. "It's nice to meet you. My name is **Hiroto Ryuzaki,** and I'm the, ah…"

' _Oh. This is a bit embarrassing.'_

"Well, this school calls me the **Ultimate Peacekeeper,** anyway." I finished.

The girl took the offer with a white gloved hand, though her grip wasn't particularly strong. Or I was used to handshakes that left me writhing in pain as a result — Ryuzakis are fond of those. She introduced herself as well.

"I am **Theia Mikaelsson, Ultimate DJ.** Nice to meet you as well, Mister Ryuzaki," she replied in a polite manner. I noticed a pair of teal headphones around her neck, resting comfortably over her black turtleneck and white double-breasted coat. The blue-green headphones matched the color to the pleated pants she wore, tucked into a pair of black combat boots with neatly tied bows. Mostly of note was the white procedural mask she wore over the bottom half of her face. However, I also happened to notice something tied around the neck, though it was hidden underneath her turtleneck collar.

' _Mister Ryuzaki, huh? I haven't heard that one before.'_

"Oh, ah, you don't need to…" I began, thinking it was a bit too polite and that the name 'Ryuzaki' carried too much weight to be thrown around so casually. Perhaps it would be appropriate in reference to my father, the one who runs the whole thing, but not necessarily towards me. But in the end, I decided not to bring it up. I was mainly worried she'd ask about it and I didn't want to make the family business obvious to my classmates on the first day. So, I redirected the conversation.

"Mm. Excuse me," I then said, before clearing my throat. "I apologize for distracting you. Campus here is quite scenic, isn't it?"

She nodded enthusiastically in response. "Oh, it is. The plants are beautiful. Don't you agree, Mister Ryuzaki?"

' _Ah, I guess she's a nature-freak. Seems to think I am now too.'_

I was never able to decide if my natural ability to speak the right words was a blessing or a curse, and that's because of moments like this. Eventually, I decided that learning something about her was a good enough positive for me.

"Of course. It's great to be around," I said.

There was quickly a lull in the conversation as we stood still, suddenly having ran out of small talk. But talking about the plantlife surrounding us reminded me why I walked into the enclosure in the first place, and that was to take a moment to relax before meeting with Chika.

' _Damn. It's been a while now, I should get going.'_

"Well, Theia, it was nice to meet you, but I am off to meet with my sister. I hope we can talk again soon — I would like to hear more about your talent," I stated with what I hoped was a polite smile.

"See you tomorrow Mister Ryuzaki," she said and sent me off. I couldn't tell if she returned the smile or not, but she did wave.

.

.

.

Chika scolded me for not talking to Theia anymore than I did. See, I hadn't heard of the girl before, but apparently, Chika had her entire discography downloaded onto her phone. She said Theia is new to the spotlight and yet has managed to produce a sizable amount of original albums and remixes, and that she would give everything to attend a concert with Theia Mikaelsson on the setlist. Most of the time we spent was dominated by her downright fangirling over the DJ, being upset that she did not pack an album for me to get signed, and being in disbelief that I'd never heard the name before. I came to the realization that I was living under a rock and made a mental note to talk to her again at the next chance I had.

After some time, we met up with Tokiko and Katsu (the latter of which was unable to find a date, which the former took advantage of for laughs) for dinner, and I returned to the Main Course dormitories that evening. I planned on retiring to my room for the night, but once I entered the building, I immediately learned that would be delayed.

A male lounging on one of the lobby's sofas spotted me and shot out of his seat. "Yo!" he greeted, walking over. "How's it going, man?"

He talked like he'd known me for ages. Granted, I recognized him as another classmate, but it was still a bit off-putting. Or maybe it was his taller (yet slim) stature with a short, fuschia-colored mohawk that had surprised me. The sides and back of his hair were shaved down, but not to the skin, as I spotted his natural hair color of dark brown. The male's eyes were olive and downturned in shape. He was dressed in a casual outfit consisting of a loose and baggy white t-shirt over a pair of black sweatpants, with a dark grey hoodie tied around the waist by the sleeves. For shoes, he wore brown sandals. However, what also struck me by surprise was what hung off his neck: a black gas mask. It was certainly a strange accessory. I was starting to feel like my peacoat, shirt, and tie outfit was too flat.

"Okay, I suppose," I replied to his question, "it's been a long first day."

I was hoping that might hint that I wanted to head back to my dorm.

"Yeah, true. Come on, hang out for a bit, I found some of our classmates," he said, turning to head back for the sofa and waving me to follow. I noticed that among the dozen or so people wandering around the lobby area, those around the chairs and sofas were in fact of the same class.

' _Agh. Fine, I'll socialize.'_

I walked over and took a seat on a single unoccupied leather chair, shrugging off my bag and placing it by my feet. In front of me was a glass coffee table with magazines scattered around it, some open, some closed, some crumpled up. Across from me was another chair like mine, then on the rectangular table's other two sides were more sofas. My fellow classmates were sitting in the area conversating. However, one was not sitting in any of the given furniture, but a wheelchair positioned in one of the corners.

"So, hey, what's your name?" asked the one who brought me over here, with the mohawk.

I introduced myself. Again, I hesitated on saying my title, but I was starting to get used to it due to a lack of much other choice.

"Woah. 'Peacekeeper'?" he parroted. He leaned forward in his seat: to my surprise, he seemed interested to some extent. "How do you get a talent like that?"

Ah, there it is. I'd been waiting for someone to ask about it.

"Well, I'm credited with ending a family rivalry last year," I said truthfully. I had to have some reason for it, didn't I? I paused as I thought of how to continue, but I decided to finish my sentence then and there.

"Huh. That must've been a big rivalry."

"Yes, it was."

"Cool. By the way, I'm **Hideaki.** I'm also known as the **Ultimate Graffiti Artist.** Nice to meet you!" he said, introducing himself instead of pressing the topic, which I was grateful for.

"Hang on, 'Graffiti Artist'?" the male in the wheelchair had spoken up. He raised a brow in concern. "You don't have any paint on you right now, do you?"

"Uhh, let me see…"

Hideaki reached into his own bag, seated by his side. After a moment of shuffling around, he takes out a can of spray paint. It's a purple-pink that was awfully similar to his hair color. Must be a favorite.

"Yeah, I have this one. I might have a few more in here," Hideaki said. He held the can in one hand and continued looking through his bag with the other. "Why do you ask, anyway?"

The male in the wheelchair glared. "Hideaki, I swear if you get any paint on my suit I'm going to sue you for everything you are worth. And I hope you know me well enough that you know that is no empty threat."

Hideaki blinked. I blinked as well at the sudden hostility, and there was an 'oooh' from one of the girls on my left. I realized they were looking at me, and I didn't understand why, until I remembered: my talent.

' _I can't really blame him, I can tell that's a nice suit. But, let's give this a shot.'_

"Now, now. Remember, graffiti art is his talent," I reminded everyone, "I'm sure he can control those cans better than anyone. He wouldn't make a mistake like that, right?" I looked to Hideaki, hoping he would be able to corroborate my theory.

"Yeah, of course," he agreed. With that, he put away the paint can and closed his bag.

"Can I ask your name, then? I'm afraid I don't recognize you," I asked.

"I'm surprised. The media likes to make a big deal out of me," the male said, sighing. "Well, anyway. I'm **Akihiro Ito. Ultimate Lawyer.** I would stand up to shake your hand, but I don't want to embarrass the both of us."

I assumed that comment was in reference to his wheelchair. Everything about Akihiro spoke high-class, and that even included said wheelchair: he sat in a cushioned leather seat, and both armrests had a cupholder. A half-finished bottle of water rested in one of them. When I looked closer at the suit he wore, I began to understand more and more why he wanted to take such care of it. It was a formal, black suit, which hugged his slim build just enough — not too tight, not too baggy. Under the jacket was a standard dress shirt and red necktie. Akihiro himself was pale-skinned with brown eyes and had hair of a lighter brown shade, short and combed back.

The name 'Akihiro' was familiar to me, especially with the context of the media making a 'big deal' out of it. I thought about it for a moment.

' _Wait, he said he's the Ultimate Lawyer, right?'_

"Oh, I do recognize you," I said in realization, "You were involved in… well, you've been involved in _high-profile_ cases, haven't you?"

I chose my words carefully. However, it took me halfway through the sentence to consider tip-toeing around it, admittedly.

Akihiro rolled his eyes. "We both know that's an understatement. 'High-profile' doesn't really cover it."

He's referring to one specific case, and I knew which one. Akihiro is famous — well, infamous may be a more accurate word — for his success defending a crime boss on the basis of the police's use of an unsanctioned mole. I first heard about the story from Ryuzakis who knew the boss in question, though I eventually learned that his reputation quickly diminished as a result. That was the last I heard of the young lawyer before meeting him in person.

"Ooh, you must be like a celebrity lawyer!" said one of the others present; a girl seated on a couch. Her clothing was, well… well. It left little to the imagination. I was embarrassed to look at her.

"What? No," Akihiro said, frowning. "I don't care if my clients are celebrities or not."

"I'll be your client if you want~" the girl said in an overtly flirtatious tone. I grimaced. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Hideaki doing the same, though the other girl she was sitting next to smiled.

"I'm sorry?" Akihiro cocked an eyebrow in confusion. "Do you even know what that— you are aware that I am a _criminal defense attorney_ , correct? I can't defend you in court unless you break the law, and I'm not going to encourage that just for a client."

"Um, Akihiro? I think she's trying to flirt," Hideaki said, breaking the news.

Akihiro sighed. "What a terrible method of flirting."

The girl pouted. "You know, lots of guys would love to be with me."

"Really? I wouldn't have guessed," Akihiro retorted, and it didn't sound like he was joking.

"Wait a second. You don't know who I am, do you?"

"I don't have a damned clue."

She gasped. Nevertheless, she quickly put a grin on her face and began her introduction. "Sis, I'm the stunning **Ashlynn White, Ultimate Pole Dancer!** "

' _Eh—'_

"Ex _cuse_ me?" I blurted out in utter bewilderment. My eyes widened as I stared at her.

' _What the hell? That's not appropriate for a school environment at all!'_

"You know me?" Ashlynn asked, "Oh, you've seen me… _work,_ haven't you?" she followed, in a sultry, medium-pitched tone.

"N-no. That's not it," I replied, shaking my head vigorously. "I just, ah, didn't know that was _allowed_ at Hope's Peak. Because it's a high school, and all? You know?"

"Hey now, don't get any weird ideas. It just means I can work a pole, nothin' else to it! And that shit's hard. You think I got this toned body by accident?"

To emphasize her point, she posed by sticking a leg in the air. And, well, she sure did have a point. Overall, she had a _curvaceous_ figure, with a sizable bust and hips wide enough that even I couldn't ignore, and I'd been putting in my best efforts to direct my eyes in every direction other than hers. Like she said, her body was toned, as well; her long legs especially. When I thought about it, I figured that keeping one's balance as they twirl about a pole must take a fair amount of strength, so it made sense. Her skin was clear of any blemishes or marks of any sort and was what seemed to be a natural tan. Her eyes were a hazel color, and for hair, she wore hers in a high ponytail, colored a reddish-brown with hot pink highlights throughout. Ashlynn was dressed (I'm not sure if 'dressed' is the right word, to be honest) in a teal-colored crop top with a matching short skirt and stilettos, though the shoes were more blue. Draped over the outfit by her shoulders was a white fur coat.

She noticed me looking her over and gave me a knowing smile, holding her pose with the leg in the air.

"Ashlynn, you can- you can put your leg down now. I see your point." I said.

"I think I can see yours—"

" _Stop._ "

She giggled. I knew she was just teasing, but my face and ears suddenly felt very warm.

"Oh, leave the boy be, Ash," said the girl next to Ashlynn, "Look how uncomfortable he is."

' _On one hand, I feel exposed, but on the other… thank you.'_

"But it's fuuun," Ashlynn protested.

"I-I'd like to change the subject, if that's alright with you two," I cut in. I felt like talking about anyone or anything else.

"Agreed." Akihiro said, annoyed. I noticed he'd been drumming his fingertips on one of the armrests.

Hideaki had his head turned to the side. "Yeah, me too."

"Look what you did, Ash. Oh well," the other girl said, "I didn't introduce myself to you yet, Hiroto. I'm **Mariko Kuroshiro, Ultimate Hypnotherapist.** I hope we can get along."

"Yes. Yes, me too," I nodded. I was still a bit flustered.

Mariko's physique too had noticeable curves, but not near the extent of Ashlynn's. Her body was mostly skinny and svelte-like in nature. Still, when I noticed that, I frowned and wondered if I was looking in the wrong places all of a sudden. Her skin was clear and moisturized, which was comparable to Ashlynn, though it was a fair white skin tone with rosy red cheeks. She had dark brown chocolate eyes that had a twinkle in them, accompanied by a glittery grey eyeshadow over her eyelids. Her raven black locks were loose with curls that cascaded down towards her waist. Mariko wore an off-shoulder white top with black roses throughout the design, a black and white patterned pleated skirt coming down to her knees, transparent grey stockings underneath with glitter that reminded me of her eyeshadow, and white flats with grey bows on the straps. She also had accessories, starting with a black choker with a dark red rose on its left side, then a white bow on the opposite side of her hair, which had two thin ribbon tails hanging freely. Her clothing style felt macabre and gothic, but I think she seemed nice enough.

"Well, you haven't told me about your talent yet either," I pointed out, though it was mostly to continue the conversation, which then had nothing to do with me. I appreciated that. "Hypnotherapy, you said?"

"Yep!" Mariko chirped, giving a bubbly smile. She casually twirled a finger through some of the curls of her hair that rested by her torso. "People call it an 'alternative' form of therapy, but it works just as well. You guys are my classmates, so… you can always come to my dorm if you're feeling stressed. I can relieve it in more ways than one."

Her voice went sultry like Ashlynn's for a moment. Long enough that I confirmed the two must be friends, and it was clear what _personality traits_ they had in common.

"Oh boy. You're gonna do that too, huh?" Hideaki commented.

I groaned. Audibly. Instead of responding verbally, I closed my eyes and rubbed the bridge of my nose, wondering how much of this I'll have to take before I graduate. I heard Ashlynn laugh, accompanied by the unmistakable clap of a victorious high five.

"Right," I eventually said, with a sigh. "I imagine one of the methods you mentioned is hypnotism. Tell me about that."

I was mildly embarrassed, but admittedly still curious about her talent.

Excitement flashed across Mariko's face, raising her eyebrows and widening her smile. "Would you like to try it? I can hypnotize you right now!"

I vehemently shook my head.

"Aw," her face practically deflated in disappointment, "Well, it's safe, anyway. I can't really make you do anything you don't want to. Think of it like a guided meditation session. I help induce a state of trance, and we do things like visualization practices."

"I see."

"Really, Hiroto. You look like a stressed out guy. I could help you."

Her tone had suddenly flipped upside down, and I sensed care and thoughtfulness following her voice. She gave me another smile, a smaller, warmer one. I hadn't forgotten her flirtatious comment and was thoroughly confused. That, or the revelation that I 'look like a stressed out guy' had struck a nerve or several.

I decided it was bedtime.

"Well, I appreciate the sentiment," I said, quickly standing up and slinging my bag over my shoulder, "but I'll be off now. It's late, you see. Tomorrow's a big day. Good night, you all."

"Oh — already? Huh. Okay, dude. See you tomorrow," Hideaki said, alarmed at my abrupt farewell. Ashlynn and Mariko said something to send me off as well, though Akihiro was silent.

With that, I made my way towards my dorm room.

.

.

.

A heavy downpour of rain came the next morning.

It was the first thing I heard upon my wake, that is, after my alarm. Rain came down at a steady pitter-patter against the window, which allowed the few rays of sunlight breaking through the clouds to shine through and cast elongated shadows. The room was dim, and I contemplated staying in bed, wrapped up among the comforters. This type of weather always did that to me.

' _It's true that attendance isn't mandatory here…'_

' _...'_

' _Nah. I'll head out.'_

With a yawn, I sat up and stretched, though it was cut off when my phone vibrated with a notification. I blinked, taking it off the nightstand in surprise. I don't get notifications that early.

 _Chika: "good morning :) did you pack an umbrella?"_

A text. How caring, I thought. I replied in the affirmative and returned the question.

 _Chika: "yep! have a good day"_

I placed the phone down again and stood, headed for the bathroom. As quickly as I turned away, there was another notification.

 _Katsu: "Dude i'm fucked, i forgot an umbrella"_

I sighed.

 _You: "Share Chika's, then. She has one."_

 _Katsu: "Bro"_

 _Katsu: "Hell no"_

 _Katsu: "I'm gonna go buy one before class"_

 _You: "Are you mad? Where do you plan to get one?"_

 _Katsu: "Idk i'll figure it out"_

 _Katsu: "Ttyl"_

 _You: "Right, well, good luck to you, I guess."_

Even though he couldn't see it, I rolled my eyes.

Soon enough, I was outside, once again dressed in my grey peacoat (it was still cold, more so than the day prior) with a standard black umbrella. It was still relatively early and few people were outside; even the dormitories seemed vacant, which told me that most had yet to get out of bed, if they planned to at all. I didn't blame them. Anyway, I figured having a decent breakfast would do something to stall the sleepiness within me that was yet to dissipate. I took my time and proceeded towards the main building to find the cafeteria.

I couldn't help but get lost in the quiet, solitary feeling of being out in the rain. It was calming. Refreshing. Even with the sounds of distant chatter among the others scattered around campus.

"Hey!"

Suddenly, one of the voices wasn't so distant. I stopped moving and turned my head behind me.

A girl dressed in a school uniform type of outfit — it wasn't the Reserve Course uniform — approached me, with a light jog in her step like she was trying to catch up. I recognized her. Not only as a classmate, but I believed I knew who she was from somewhere. The brooch attached to her blazer was familiar.

"Hi," she said, not quite as loud as before now that she was by my side, "Um, sorry to bug you. But I think we're going to the same class."

I nodded. "We are. Excuse me, but, would I recognize you from anywhere?"

"Yeah, maybe! I have a YouTube channel," she replied gleefully.

"Oh… hmm. Maybe not, then," I said, scratching my head. I wasn't an avid user of the website in question.

"Do you watch anime?" she asked.

"Yes, sometimes, why do you— _oh!_ "

I turned more to face her, now knowing why she was so familiar to me.

"You played a main character in _Hanaburi Bōrū_ last year, didn't you?" I asked, revealing just a tad more enthusiasm than I intended.

"Yes, I did!" she confirmed. "Actually, a lot of people recognize me from that. I should've asked about it first."

"See, I knew it," I nodded again. "I thought your work was great when I first heard it. It's a shame the show is on hiatus, though."

"O-Oh. Thank you," she said, with a slight stutter and a clear reddening of the cheeks. I think I caught her off guard by accident. "It's because of me transferring schools. But it's coming back! It should be soon, now that I'm settled in at Hope's Peak!" she reassured, smiling. It truly was reassuring to hear, to be honest.

"Listen, I remember your face when you made headlines. 'Popular YouTuber and voice actress to attend Hope's Peak' or something like that. But, ah, your name…"

"Oh, that's okay," she said, telling where I was going with that sentence. "My name is **Yukina Mizushima,** but you can call me Yuki! And I'm the **Ultimate Vocalist.** "

Yuki was much shorter than I, likely only slightly above five feet tall. Her skin was fair with a slight pink tinge to her cheeks. Her eyes had a depth to them that ranged from a light chestnut color to the darkest of browns, matching her hair; long and wavy, with a few strands sticking out around the top and the sides. It was done in a braid that reached all the way down to the hem of her skirt where it split into two short tails. She was dressed in a tango pink blazer with its sleeves rolled up to the forearms, over a white cotton sweater with a v-shaped collar that had a light blue stripe running through. Under the collar was a white button-down with a black and blue plaid tie. The rest of her uniform consisted of a skirt with alternating vertical stripes of a pale cobalt, violet, and similarly pale pink in that order. The brooch attached to her lapel is also worth noting: it was made up of two parts, with the upper one being a design with the YouTube logo in its center (a rounded red square and a play button in white), and the bottom being a Japanese flag attached by a small chain. Yuki was also holding a hot pink umbrella in her hand.

"Alright then, Yuki. I'm Hiroto Ryuzaki, Ultimate Peacekeeper. Let's walk."

We were barely paces ahead of the dorms and I was starting to get cold, so it felt time to get moving again.

"What do you do as a 'Vocalist', if you don't mind me asking?" I was thinking, and it turned out her name was relatively familiar as well. Chika may have told me about her before. I wanted to make sure.

"Well, like I said before, I run a YouTube channel. I produce music, voiceover comics — oh, and anime too I guess, collab with other YouTubers, things like that!" she said, listing each of her avenues of work on her fingertips.

"Your voice is capable of a lot, then," I commented. "How many subscribers do you have anyway?"

"Eheh, I-I guess. I think the channel passed around five point… seven million recently."

' _Oh, boy. I'm dealing with an internet celebrity here.'_

"That's great. I'm fairly certain my sister is one of them. What's your channel name, again?" I asked.

"Yukiwi!" she replied.

' _Yukiwi?'_

' _That's right, it's a pun on her own name. Chika did tell me about her before. I thought the name was far too cutesy and wrote her off immediately. I feel bad now.'_

' _Hm. You know, I bet Chika would love it if…'_

I looked to my side at the Vocalist. "Did you ever get a chance to talk to Theia yet?"

Yuki gasped and almost stopped for a moment. She returned eye contact. "I knew it! Theia Mikaelsson _is_ in our class, isn't she!?" Her excitement was clear as day.

"She is, yes," I nodded, "Ultimate DJ if I remember right. I don't have any idea how music production works, but the two of you should collab sometime."

' _I say, not knowing what either of their music is like, either.'_

Yuki raised her free hand into a fist, in determination. "You're absolutely right. I have a few things I'm working on, but it's super important that we collab! Super High School Level important!"

' _I just got a strange sense of deja vu, as if I've heard that term before. No, like that term means so much more than that. Like it's part of my identity.'_

' _I'm fairly certain it's just a reference to some video game, though…'_

We continued walking. The topic of music production went on for a while, until she realized I was yet to _properly_ introduce myself, and apologized a dozen times. Not that I particularly cared either way. But, talking to somebody about something that made their eyes light up always made my day. Anyway, I gave Yuki a brief explanation of my supposed 'talent' of negotiation and peacemaking. Soon after, the two of us made it inside the building, and said few words until making it to the cafeteria on the first floor.

We split off for a short while after that. It was still early enough that going to class then would be a waste of time.

I spent that time thinking. I gave thought to what could be in my future at Hope's Peak Academy.

' _I'm not spending that long of a time here. I've got the rest of this year to play out, then one more, and it's done. I'll be a graduate of Hope's Peak.'_

' _That means guaranteed success, supposedly…'_

' _I wonder what that means for me. Maybe I can try negotiating with the Matushitas again sometime.'_

' _Well, not as many people need to be there that time. Can't risk it going south again.'_

To be honest, I was uncertain about my future, but that is to be expected for anybody, I supposed. Nevertheless, I had a feeling good things were coming.

* * *

 **[A/N: That's that! Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed.**

 **A few characters were introduced. As of this chapter, the final roster consists of:**

 **Hiroto Ryuzaki - Ultimate Peacekeeper [SHSL Coder]. Obviously.**

 **Theia Mikaelsson - Ultimate DJ [Kuwatermelon]. She didn't get a lot of screentime, but she will!**

 **Hideaki Ishikura - Ultimate Graffiti Artist [Hexcav-Lio]. He didn't give his last name before because he's casual like that.**

 **Akihiro Ito - Ultimate Lawyer [Birdley]. Sarcastic and super fun to write.**

 **Ashlynn White - Ultimate Pole Dancer [Pretty Palutena]. Will most likely stress out poor Hiroto at any given opportunity. And Akihiro.**

 **Mariko Kuroshiro - Ultimate Hypnotherapist [liammarklh88]. Will probably get along well with Ash.**

 **Yukina Mizushima - Ultimate Vocalist [DarkRubySparks]. Fun fact: Hiroto's first appearance was "Inoue Arata" in a super old RP. Yuki was there too! It's like a reunion, 4.5 years later. Yuki's remaster is far more in-depth than Hiroto's though, I'll tell you that right now. The form is 11 thousand words and 23 pages. This entire chapter is 7 thousand words and 20 pages. The form's longer than this chapter! I already told the author how impressed I am with the length but gotDAMN u guys…**

 **well, anyway**

 **Chapter -1. Yeah. Not a continuation of chapter 0, but instead, a prologue to that which in itself is technically a prologue. So yes, everything in -1 takes place before 0, and all of it will (eventually) be remembered by the cast. In 0, we see that there's been some strange happenings with Hiroto's memory, but don't worry, this will all be realized over the course of chapter 0. My intention is to spend -1 detailing what the characters' lives are like in a regular, non-despair, Hope's Peak Academy environment. Little developments and revelations (such as the beginning's focus on Hiroto and his background as a member of the Ryuzaki-gumi) will be sprinkled throughout. This way, the story can progress with the cast knowing each other well, and the readers too will be familiar with the characters. I think it will be an interesting break from the standard formula of everyone meeting one another for the first time. This way the inevitable murders could carry much more weight. Hopefully. I'm playing with a few other ideas on how to break the rules…**

 **I have a few questions for you all! Reply in a review/PM/whatever. Firstly: out of this bunch, who is your favorite character? Any thoughts and first impressions? These were brief introductions, so it might be hard to answer, but let me know what you think. (On that note, do be aware that I plan to come back to these characters more as chapter -1 goes on.)**

 **Secondly, I'm considering making a forum for this fic as I've seen a few other authors do. This way, I can keep in touch with you all, especially during any sudden extended breaks between updates. Plus readers can discuss the story itself. If you like this idea, let me know.**

 **Finally, if you have any other impressions on anything else, like the writing style, grammar/spelling, etc, I'd love to hear it.**

 **That's all for now. Thanks for reading, see you soon!]**


	4. chapter -1-2

**[A/N: We're back! Man, this chapter was a lot of fun to write. I hope you enjoy it. I'll get right to reviews now and let y'all get to the good stuff.**

 **CandiedStars:** Glad you enjoyed the chapter! Also, if I'm gonna 'announce' this anywhere, it may as well be right here: I've made a forum dedicated to discussion of Welcome to Yamanuha. I will also use it to post updates in between chapters to let readers know what the status is. I'll put a link in my profile, so check it out if you're interested. Anyway, back to your review: yeah, I love Yukina, she's great. She rounds off the cast quite well. And yes, Ashlynn is definitely… a bit unique, when it comes to this kinda thing. But I assure you that the form made it clear she is far more than just seductive. More details about her and her personality will come out as time goes on. Thanks for your interest, and I hope to get the rest of the roster out ASAP.

 **AcapelTorien:** Honestly it makes me really happy to hear you read it on the train. I'm practically a professional author now, writing stuff people read on their commute… but really, I'm glad you enjoyed it. If you're reading this and it's Monday morning, have a good day at work.

 **TJMike:** First of all, thanks for the long review. I thrive off feedback, lmao. I'm glad you like the style that I'm taking with the beginning of the story here, I feel like everything is more 'real'? And that it gives a better opportunity for the characters' differences and unique traits to shine. Hopefully this means the characters will indeed be fleshed out a decent amount before the murders n stuff start happening. Moving on, I agree that Akihiro and Mariko are both fun characters. Akihiro's snarky personality is going to make future interactions great, and… well, I'll say that I have some ideas floating around for Mariko's hypnotherapy. And finally, thanks for the note about splitting up the introductory chapters. I was honestly a bit worried because it's taking time to pump these out, but at least it means they come out better? -shrug-

 **Pretty Palutena:** This was so nice to read, thanks! Good to know you liked Ashlynn. I was hoping I didn't push her, uh, _seductive_ personality too much. But I thought it would make for some laughs, so I'm happy that worked out well. Hope you enjoy the rest of the cast as well once they are introduced.

 **Birdley:** I ended up receiving both reviews, but I got the second one first. Maybe there's some type of delay for guest account reviews? Not sure. Anyway, the comment about this being one of the best fanfics you've read in a while is awesome as hell. Very happy to hear that. I have to agree that the first murder tends to be a bit strange since nobody knew the victim for any significant amount of time. Shock at the fact that it happened, I can see, but I think doing it this way will cause more realistic and emotional reactions. Man, I'm getting sad thinking about it. Well, anyway, thanks for reading.

 **So, one more plug: I've made a discussion forum for this story, and a link will be in my profile. Some art has been posted too! Go check it out. Anyway, hope you enjoy this chapter. See you again in about 6 thousand words.]**

* * *

 **chapter -1-2**

* * *

The rain continued all throughout the rest of the day. In fact, as time went on, it developed into a seasonal storm of grey clouds and clapping thunder. Few people made it into the building for classes. Thankfully, my last teacher of the day understood why, and had us leave early — 'before it gets worse', he said.

I returned to the dorms immediately to warm up. There I saw a large crowd of students huddled around the sofas, with the fragrances of freshly brewed coffee, tea, and hot chocolate combatting one another. Loud and excitable chatter came in every direction.

' _Ah, so this is where everyone is. Taking shelter from the storm.'_

It seemed like something eventful was happening. Curious, I filed through the crowd to see. I ran into Hideaki, the graffiti artist I'd met the day prior.

"Hideaki," I greeted in a hushed tone so not to distract the others, "looks like I've been missing out on something. Care to fill me in?"

"Oh, hey man. Playing some card games, apparently there's a celebrity gambler in our class. You should get in there next round!" he explained with his trademark smile. His enthusiasm clearly hadn't gone anywhere.

' _Huh. Well, I do have a lot of experience around a deck of cards… hm, I wonder who this celebrity is?'_

I nodded to Hideaki. "I'm going to take a look, then."

When I finally reached the edge of the crowd, I saw two students sitting across from one another, with cards splayed out across the table. One leaned forward in concentration, fiddling with the collar to his mint green dress shirt as he stared down the cards to make his next move. His skin was pale, in contrast to his almond-shaped eyes, which I nearly thought were black (they were just a particularly dark brown, which I could relate to). The male's hair was a firey red in color, cut short and neat with bangs over his forehead. Overall, his build was lean. He wore a dress shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, which was slightly covered by a black blazer that draped over his shoulders like a cape. Brown suspenders — matching his shoes — kept his black dress pants up.

The other one…

' _Wait, isn't that—?'_

"So whatcha gonna do?" the other student present asked, in a mischievous voice. A smirk accompanied her words. "You look like you're in deep thought. But making me wait like that is rude, y'know!"

"Didn't I tell you my talent already? I'm the **Ultimate Conspirator!** " the redhead replied, grinning. "I have to think things through. I've already visualized every possible outcome from this point in the game."

"Huh!? We're playing blackjack! Either you hit or you stand, that's it!"

"Yes, but Miss Lucky Star, _anything_ can happen…"

'Lucky Star', huh? It was confirmed; I knew who at least one of the players were.

"Anyway, I will now make my move!" the apparent 'Conspirator' shouted with confidence, "I shall hit!"

He made a very showy move of reaching for the deck, acquiring the topmost card, and twirling his hand around to see what he got. Suddenly, his confidence and happiness depleted.

Slowly, he placed his card next to the others. "I have twenty-two. I've lost."

"Haha!" the Lucky Star laughed, happy that she's added a win to her belt. "Okay, get outta here. Who wants to play me next!?"

A half dozen people shot their hand into the air and said 'me!'. I stepped forward and said, "How about me?"

She squinted, looking me over for a moment. Finally, she nodded, and beckoned me over as the Conspirator got up to leave. He patted me on the shoulder on the way out and gave a simple 'good luck'. I knew he was another classmate, and made a mental note to catch up with him later, if possible.

Regardless, I sat down, watching the girl shuffle the deck at a rapid fire pace, managing to pull off a few card tricks in the process.

"Heh. Looks like you can do that even faster than last time," I commented, taking off my coat and placing it next to my bag.

"Well, last time _was_ quite a while ago, was it not?" she replied.

"Yes, you're right. Over a year now. How have things been, **Fumie?** "

The girl before me was **Fumie Chizuru.** No introductions were needed: two winters ago, I was dragged to something of a casino to celebrate the birthday of one of the family bosses. It was crawling with shady individuals; yakuza families I hadn't even heard of. But I wasn't surprised, considering the country's strict laws around this kind of thing.

"Great. Doing the same thing I was doing when I met you."

"Oh?"

"Beating everyone I meet in every card game imaginable."

She's not lying. When we visited her family's casino, she was only fifteen, yet not only did she destroy me in a game of poker but even the older folk who had decades of experience. Yeah, we didn't stay there long that night.

"I've been practicing," I said, "perhaps today is the day the streak of the Lucky Star breaks."

"Oh really? They call me that for a reason, you know," Fumie said, still maintaining a fun tone that was able to bar one from ever knowing what she's thinking. But I can do that too, so this type of back-and-forth dialogue happened the last time we played as well. Though, I admit, it was exhausting to put up with it.

Speaking of the last time we played, Fumie's appearance hadn't changed all that much. She was still the same petite, apple-shaped girl as before, with a skin tone being a lighter shade of beige that made it clear she spent more time in the casino than out. I recognized the small studs in her ears as well (her earlobes were attached, and as such, larger jewelry didn't seem to be an option). Her face was small and in the shape of a heart with a soft jawline. Making eye contact shocked me the first time around on account of the fact that her irises were a rich shade of crimson, and even now, I had trouble keeping my eyes on hers, so I diverted them downward to my cards. Fumie's hair, a bright golden blonde, fell just past her waistline. The fringe was cut short over her forehead and framed her face nicely. A braided headband kept it all in place with a red rose attached. Her outfit was as busy as I remembered, as well: a white blouse with a maroon tie around its high collar, under a grey vest and an open maroon blazer, with a matching high waisted skirt. She wore black stockings and flats to accompany the outfit.

I checked what I had in my hand. A six and a four. It made ten, meaning whatever I picked up would be safe. As I reached to take another card, I asked, "So what are you here for, Fumie?"

"Take a guess, Ryuzaki," she said casually.

"Well, I know that every time you so much as look at a casino machine, it spits out a jackpot. You won Hope's Peak's lottery, didn't you?" I came back with a five. Fifteen. It became a risk to hit again, but I decided to wait on Fumie's turn to finish to decide what I'd do.

Fumie had a pair of sevens, making fourteen. She went towards the deck. "Hah! You think I'm the Luckster? No no, I have a real talent: the **Ultimate Gambler,** at your service," she introduced her talent with a knowing smile. I didn't understand why and figured it was just more of her trickery, until she continued with, "By the way, I won."

"Huh—"

She placed the new card down, to reveal it was another seven. Three of the four sevens in the deck were in front of her, making her score twenty-one, or a blackjack in other words.

"Absolutely not," I shook my head. "Fumie, have you started cheating? This can't be right."

Someone in the crowd spoke up. "Uh, well, she had two sevens last time, too. But that guy, the Ultimate Conspirator, he shuffled the deck."

I blinked at the stranger, and looked back at Fumie in confusion.

' _What kind of power does she have over these cards!?'_

"Hmph. Cheat? Me? Please, I do have _some_ standards," Fumie replied in the midst of packing the stray cards back into the deck. "That isn't a practice I plan to start any time soon. If you like, we can rematch, and you can shuffle."

"Gladly."

And so, I employed the techniques I've learned to fairly shuffle a deck of cards. Of course, I also know how to shuffle them in my favor. My old man taught me how to slip a card up my sleeve before he taught me the rules. But Fumie didn't cheat before, so if she really wasn't cheating now, then I wouldn't either.

"You haven't told me your talent yet, Ryuzaki," Fumie pointed out as I shuffled.

"Oh, just call me Hiroto. I'm the Ultimate Peacekeeper." I stated. Coming out with it was a bit more natural, the more I repeated myself.

"Really?" Fumie asked, "Your tattoos don't make you look very peaceful." Her eyes were directed toward my arms.

I glanced down, and saw that the sleeves of my shirt had rode up while I was shuffling to reveal my forearms. Which, as is traditional for every Ryuzaki, were covered in ink.

' _Damn. That's not really something I wanted everyone to see. If anything is going to make it obvious what my background is, it's the tattoos. At least they've only seen a sneak peek.'_

I rolled my eyes, placing the deck on the table and pulling my sleeves back down to my wrists. "You're annoying, you know?"

"What do you mean, I'm annoying!? Ruuude…" It _was_ a rude comment, but as I said before, we have a strange sort of back-and-forth to our conversations.

With that, I dealt our starting cards. Fumie let me go first again.

No matter, because once I hit, I managed to score twenty-four. I was out immediately.

Obviously, she continued to tease me as I stood up and gathered my things. I tried to deflect it the best I could as I retreated into the crowd.

"This isn't over!" I said, waving a finger at her over my shoulder, "We'll play poker soon, _then_ we'll see!"

I didn't beat her at poker, but I was able to hold my own when we did play.

"Yeah, yeah! Okay, I'm getting bored, so whoever plays me next has to put down a bet!"

I stayed for a short while to watch, before escaping the crowd for a breather at the coffee machine. It was starting to get a little too loud for my tastes. I began preparing a cup, mulling over what the rest of the day might have in store for me.

' _Well, I have assignments to work on, now. Homework and all that. Guess I'll head up soon and get started, try to make it to the cafeteria for dinner if the rain dies down…'_

"Isn't this a sight?" a question directed towards me cut through my thoughts. I looked away from the machine to see the previous victim of Fumie's before myself: the Conspirator.

"Hm? What is?" I asked.

"This, of course!" he said, waving a hand across to gesture at the crowd, "A betting ring in the middle of Hope's Peak. For shame. Don't they know this is illegal?"

"What, do you think the headmaster is just going to expel a ton of Ultimates?" I replied, cocking a brow. "It would make the school look terrible. With us being the 'future of society' and all that."

He grinned. "I hoped you might say that. You're smarter than you look."

"Hey now, they _could_ get in trouble, and what is that even supposed to—"

"What's your name?" he said, outright ignoring me. He was slightly taller than I and had to look down to make eye contact. "Seemed like you and Fumie knew each other."

"Huh? Yeah. I met her at her parents' casino a while back," I explained, before introducing myself. There was a slight hesitation in my voice due to his off-putting nature. "So what about you, then? I overheard you say something about being a 'Conspirator'."

"Me? I'm **Kei Mikaku** — yes, _that_ Mikaku. I suppose people already know about me, huh?" he said, before breaking into laughter for a moment. "Oh, right. I'm the Ultimate Conspirator. A pleasure to meet you, stranger."

He offered a hand to shake, and I paused to consider why he said 'that Mikaku'. Should the family name have been familiar? I shook his hand, thinking about the name. I realized there was only one instance of 'Mikaku' that I knew of.

"You're not related to a _Reo,_ are you?" I referenced the one Mikaku I knew.

"Yup. Rich old man's my father," Kei replied.

' _Mm. I can relate, for different reasons, I suppose.'_

Reo Mikaku. I didn't know much about the business he owned other than the fact that it was worth _billions_ of yen and had something to do with banking. He was practically a legend, and I've heard that upper-rank Ryuzakis have tried to find out if his company was just a front but have yet to come up with anything.

"What do you do as a 'Conspirator', anyway?" I asked. It was a change of subject, but that title had been on my mind since I first heard it come out of his mouth.

"I'm the brains behind the operation," Kei said. He put his hands on his hips in a show of confidence. "So, if you wanna keep the peace around here, Peacekeeper; I can give you a step-by-step plan on how to do it, with about a half-dozen backup plans just in case. Of course, my backup plans will have backup plans too."

"I imagine you're more successful outside of card games, then."

Kei shrugged. "I was facing the famous Lucky Star. I knew the odds were against me."

' _If you insist…'_

"Well, Kei, it was a nice chat. However, it's about time I got some homework done," I said, deciding to finally make my leave.

"Alrighty! You have fun with that," Kei said with a smile, waving as he disappeared into the crowd. I sent him off with a salute.

I don't know if it was the caffeine I'd been drinking or my nerves from being around so many people, but something was telling me that enough was enough. It was time for me to spend some time back in my dorm. And so, I headed towards the elevators.

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 _April 7th, 201X_

 _Entry #368_

 _It's been about a week since I started attending the prestigious Hope's Peak Academy._

 _Everything is, well, chaotic, I think would be the best word. Especially in comparison to the private schooling I'm used to. Here, I live among possibly the most talented and passionate individuals in the world. It's a very, very strange experience. I've talked to many other students by now, and in most cases, have seen an example of their talents. The creatives among us have tangible work to show, the scholars can talk at lengths about the ins and outs of their subjects, and everyone in between can do something to either extent. I am yet to be given an opportunity to truly demonstrate any justification for being titled 'Peacekeeper'. I suppose that's a good thing: things must be going just fine if there's no need for that, right?_

 _Truth be told, it's been a challenge to keep up with everything. But don't get me wrong, I'm enjoying my time here. I'm spending it making memories with those around me. However, it means I've been missing out on responsibilities such as my physical training. Martial arts classes are on hold until the summer, but my father did want me to keep my body at maximum performance regardless. He was put to the same expectations when he was preparing to take the reins of the Ryuzaki-gumi, after all. There's not a chance I will be able to juggle Hope's Peak and a proper training regiment, but I should look into using the gym on campus…_

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And so, shortly after closing the word processing application I used for journaling, I found myself facing the doors to the weight room. Slung over my shoulder is a bag with a change of clothes and other necessities. The building had been eerily quiet as I walked through, likely a result of the darkening skies above. Many students were relaxing in different parts of the dorm's lobby, studying, hanging out in one another's room, or who knows what. Being in a school after hours was an unfamiliar, surreal feeling. However, as I stood outside the doors, I heard blaring music, iron clanging against the floor, and lots of talk. I wasn't sure what I was about to get myself into.

As I swallowed my intimidations and reached for the door, it suddenly opened.

"Ah! Excuse me, I didn't see you there!"

I looked up at the… _thing_ that came out of the weight room and my mind immediately blanked. In other circumstances, I wouldn't have thought anything of the interaction, but this person wasn't quite the same as anyone else I've met at Hope's Peak. He had an _aura._

"Are you alright? I didn't hurt you, did I?" he asked out of what I perceived to be actual, genuine concern.

"N- No. I'm fine, thanks." I replied.

Standing before me was a man that took up more space than I've ever seen from a human being. He was well over six feet with a bulky, sculpted body with broad shoulders and a wide back. His eyes were a celeste blue in direct contrast to his undercut-style bright orange hair, which for a while, almost seemed as if it were shining. Under the light, one could see freckles on his face, over naturally tanned skin.

"Hey, have we met?" he asked, "You look pretty familiar."

"Not properly. But we are in the same class," I said.

He smiled — a bright, toothy smile, and let out a laugh. "That's right, I'm usually in here working out. I'm really excited for tryouts for the basketball team to start!"

His enthusiasm was something I envied, to be honest. I'm sure a flash of surprise came across my face as I replied, "That's, that's great. What's your name?"

"I'm the man who extinguishes the fire from hell! The one and only, **Yoshio Natsumura! Ultimate Firefighter!** " he exclaimed (slightly awkward considering the silence of the empty hallway, but accepted nonetheless). Yoshio gave me a thumbs up before adding, "Nice to meet you!"

Yoshio's talent didn't surprise me. Sure, he could just as well have been the Ultimate Bodybuilder, but he was dressed in a black firefighter's uniform with orange accents for visibility. His fire coat was left open over a white t-shirt that made it easier to see the muscular definition. He wore stone grey boots laced up to the top, and a pair of gloves that matched.

' _A firefighter… he's like a stereotypical hero, especially with the way he talks. I believe I've heard as much about him on Hope's Peak forums as well. Maybe that means I can depend on him if anything bad were to happen.'_

"Hiroto Ryuzaki, Ultimate Peacekeeper. My pleasure, Yoshio." I returned the pleasantries.

He came by my side and casually put an arm over my shoulder. His bicep alone must have weighed fifty pounds, as far as I was concerned. "Okay, Peacekeeper! See you around!" he said, giving me what I imagine he _thought_ was a light tap on the shoulder, before heading out.

I didn't know what to really make of Yoshio, but his enthusiasm was infectious. I carried it with me into the weight room.

Inside was quite the scene. Loud rock music blared through speakers placed around the spacious room. One half of the room was dominated by cardio equipment and the other benches and machines, but both halves had people making use of it all, either going solo with a pair of headphones or in a group, congratulating one another on a good set.

I spent my workout being the former. People could be distracting and impact the quality of my training session, which was more important to me. I always got the impression that neglecting my duties as next in line to the throne of the Ryuzaki-gumi would be received poorly. I also always enjoyed having both of my little fingers, knowing that they would be the first to go should I step out of line.

According to the screen built into the treadmill, I managed close to twenty minutes before I threw in the towel. Shorter than usual. Truth be told, I hated cardio. With my heartrate still over a hundred beats per minute, I stepped off the machine and towards the shower room in the back. Absentmindedly, I packed my tracksuit into the bag I brought along and stuffed it into a locker before hitting the showers. Halfway through, though, I realized I'd have to walk back out in nothing but a towel and a pair of sandals.

' _Shit. That's not something I gave any thought to.'_

' _Agh, whatever… I'm sure people already know who I am, anyway. I've just been lucky enough to not have to talk about it.'_

I tried not to think about it much.

A short time later, I returned to my locker to get dressed again, opting for a casual pair of jeans and a hoodie. It's not my usual style, but I wasn't about to tie a tie to go to the cafeteria.

"Those tats look familiar."

' _Ah, here we go. Wait — familiar? What's that mean?'_

I raised a brow, looking to the source of the voice. Another classmate of mine that I hadn't talked to yet was seated by my locker, looking up at me as he offhandedly tied his black tennis shoes.

"You're a Ryuzaki, right?" he said while I put on my undershirt.

"Excuse me?" I replied, puzzled. "Who are you?"

"I knew it," he said, grinning. His voice was casual as he introduced himself. "Well, I'm **Akuma Buredo. Ultimate Street Fighter.** I guess you're wondering how I recognized you, huh?"

Akuma had a toned, athletic build, and like many others he too was taller than I. He had a fairly light skin complexion, but interestingly, he had two pink scars across his face that made the shape of an 'X', beginning at the eyebrow line and ending at the nostrils. His eyes were a vivid, emerald green in color, complementing his loose and free flowing red hair that reached to his neck, with a few curly bangs over his eyebrows. Akuma's outfit was simple: a forest green polo shirt left open over a silk sky blue t-shirt, with a pair of grey cargo pants.

I eyed him, slightly bewildered. He said my 'tats' were 'familiar', but I couldn't draw the conclusion to how that meant I was a Ryuzaki. I simply nodded to prompt him to continue.

"Fought a guy with tattoos like yours a few months back," Akuma began explaining, "With the yakuza style on the front 'n all. Had that big dragon on the back. Forgot the dude's name, but he was definitely a Ryuzaki."

I groaned, immediately recognizing who he was talking about. "Yeah, that's my brother, Katsu. He's an idiot. He says he took 'inspiration' from me, but I'd say he took a little too much, if you ask me."

"Haha. Does he go here too? I swear I've seen him around, but he avoids me now." Akuma said, standing up to throw a worn hoodie over his polo.

"No wonder. He had to go to the hospital if I remember correctly," I replied. It's true, by the end of the fight, he had a cracked rib. When I asked him what the hell happened, he just said that I should 'see the other guy', which I've finally done. "Anyway, he attends the reserve course."

"And how about you?"

"Hiroto Ryuzaki. Ultimate Peacekeeper." I hadn't properly introduced myself, so I figured that was a good a time as any.

Akuma blinked. "Okay, not what I expected, but alright."

"There's a lot of politics involved in my family. Inter-clan relations, foreign clan relations. Hey — Akuma, listen," I said, looking him in the eye. "I don't think everyone here knows about the Ryuzaki family. Do me a favor and don't go blabbing, okay?"

"Or what, you're gonna beat me up?" he taunted, with that grin again. For a split second, I really thought he was taunting me, and might've socked me in the jaw for asking a favor. Instead, he gave me nothing more than a light punch to the arm, thankfully. He said, "I got you. But, it's not that big of a deal, you know?"

I sighed. "Right, whatever you say." I wasn't interested in challenging that idea.

The two of us started to head out, walking back through the weight room toward the exit. Akuma waved to a few people we passed by, as well as returning high fives and fist bumps.

"Huh. You're a regular here already?" I commented.

"Sure am. You think I can be the Ultimate Street Fighter and _not_ stay in shape?" he pointed out with sass.

"Mm. Fair enough." He had me there.

There was a pause. "So, how long have you been working out?" Akuma asked, pocketing his hands.

I thought for a while on that. "Since I was fifteen, technically. I've never followed a routine as well as I should, though."

"Yeah? I've been fighting since I was fourteen. Y'know, I can probably teach you a few things," he said, shrugging. "I bet you get into just as many fights as I do."

"Nah," I shook my head, "people from rival families like to try to provoke me, though there's only been… one major incident where words turned into actions."

' _Referring to the gunfight with the Matzushitas, of course. Strange life I live, isn't it?'_

The two of us stopped at the doors when Akuma turned to face me. "Look. If you need help throwing a punch or whatever, let me know, alright? Now how about we get some food? I'm hungry."

My stomach rumbled on cue. It _was_ about that time.

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Akuma and I had a high-protein meal, discussed the possibility of him teaching me some things he knows, and split off for the night. It wouldn't be the first time I received training like this, but what's a better source than the Ultimate Street Fighter? I thought learning self-defense wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, so I told him truthfully that I'd consider it. After he left, I spent some time in the rapidly emptying cafeteria scrolling through various social media posts on my phone, firing off a few texts to my siblings, before heading back to the dorms myself. I wondered what the extent of the chaos in the lobby would be this time.

Surprisingly, it turned out this was one of the few nights where the lobby saw little activity. I gave hellos to the people I recognized, whom were relaxing on the couch with either a magazine or their own smartphones. Short small talk later, I walked past them to the elevators.

Once the doors slid open to my floor, I heard something that confused me greatly.

First of all, the fact that I heard anything at all was a rather big deal — it was always dead silent at this time, except for the odd case when more than one person was going between elevator and dorm room. Weekends were another exception. Bemused, I decided to check out what might've been happening.

I was led to the door to someone's room. Muffled electronic music came from the other side, with loud beats that somehow sounded of high quality despite the filter of the thick wooden door. Usually, I would have accepted that someone was hosting a party or an intense study session and move on, but something about it kept me there for longer than I intended. The bass was deep, yet it didn't overpower the melody. The vocals kicked in, and they sounded beautiful, and for some reason they were _familiar—_

Yuki came around the corner, seeing me standing awkwardly at her door.

"Oh my gosh!" she said, startled. "I'm so sorry, I didn't know how loud the music was!" She was apologetic, and her raised eyebrows told me the situation caught her off guard. I may be particularly observant when it comes to things like this, but as I talked to Yuki, I figured it would be easy for _anyone_ to read her.

"No, no, it's fine," I immediately tried to wave it off, putting my hands up in front of me. "It's really good, actually. That voice wouldn't happen to be…?"

Yuki nodded. "Yeah, I recently recorded that. Theia's inside editing. I'll tell her to turn it down."

' _Oh, they really are doing that collab, huh? Chika will be happy when this releases.'_

"Hey…"

"Huh?"

Yuki's eyes squinted, like she was in serious thought about something. "Are you busy?"

' _...'_

' _What is she planning?'_

"I imagine I might regret this for some reason, but no, I'm not." I replied.

"You won't regret it at all! Come with me!" she exclaimed, unlocking her door and waving me to follow her inside.

It was one thing that I hung around outside for so long, but then I actually went and entered the room of someone who was essentially a stranger. Yes, I've talked to Yuki a few times now and decided to trust her, but that decision would probably have me excommunicated from the Ryuzaki-gumi and worse.

"Hey man, I barely know you," I said at the door, calling out to Yuki as I closed it behind me. Noting the shoes, I took off mine. I was getting too comfortable. "I could be like… a criminal. Huh. Y'know what, nevermind."

I heard the depression of a keyboard's spacebar and the music paused. "Hello Mister Ryuzaki," said Theia, confirming her presence.

"Hi Theia," I called out in response. We talked a limited amount before, and she always called me 'Mister Ryuzaki'. The music turned back on right away.

I stepped into the main area of the dorm room. Each room was relatively small, consisting of one room with a bed, kitchen, and a table with chairs around it. Near the bed was a small bathroom. I'm tempted to say I knew that because the room was a carbon copy of mine, and that may have been true on an architectural basis, but that was where the similarities ended. One corner of the room was decked out like a studio, with a microphone stand and a few soundproofing panels. However, the soundproofing obviously did nothing to counteract the speakers on the other side of the room, blasting music at full volume. Theia was posted up on the bed, laying on her stomach tapping at a laptop keyboard to edit the song in question. A real keyboard was plugged in — for inputting notes, I imagined. She wore a comfy-looking turtleneck sweater.

"Theia, um, can you turn that down a bit?" Yuki asked politely.

"Yeah, I heard it from the elevators. I don't mind, but you should probably know that," I added in a more straightforward manner.

"Sorry," Theia apologized, and with a click of the mouse, the volume was lowered to a reasonable amount. She looked up to her collab partner and said, "Miss Mizushima, I worked on the beat from yesterday. I think it's ready."

"Oh, show me, show me! And, you know, you can call me Yuki," the Vocalist replied with excitement. She sat at the table in wait, so I figured I'd do the same.

"Okay Yuki," Theia replied, and skipped to a certain timestamp in the song.

When she let the song play, it was at a point where the lead synth melody climbed in both pitch and speed, with the beat losing its bass but stacking up on the hi-hats, and a portion of Yuki's vocals repeating itself as everything swelled into a crescendo that only the Ultimate DJ could ever pull off. Just as it got to a point where I wasn't sure if my heart could take it, the beat dropped with such intensity that the ground shook beneath me, even with the lowered volume. The rhythm changed from the drums I heard before — this was the different beat Theia had apparently been working on. This went on for a while as kind of a 'recovery period' for the bass drop, I'd call it. However, once the chorus returned with the vocals, I felt as if something was missing with the sequence. Theia paused the song to hear our feedback.

"That… was perfect. Theia, I love you." Yuki responded, and looked taken aback, as if the song took her on an adventure. Granted, I felt the same way.

Theia smiled in response. I found out how to tell when she was smiling, since the mask had always been in the way: her cheekbones would rise up and her eyelids would either squint as a result or close together.

"I agree," I said, "eh, that it was very good, I mean. The last comment there was a bit too intimate for me. N- Not that I _don't_ like you or anything. Mm. Well this statement has failed miserably, hasn't it?" By the end of it, I really did have my eyes shut and had been rubbing the bridge of my nose in some attempt to wipe away my social awkwardness around female friendships.

Yuki broke into a laughing fit, which she assured me she was very sorry for in between laughs. Theia had a giggle as well before thanking me. I sighed.

" _Anyway._ There was an issue, if you don't mind my constructive criticism," I stated in nothing less of a deadpan tone.

Theia shook her head, and in fact, I swear I saw her eyes light up. "Of course not. Mustn't artists take feedback to improve their craft?"

"Right, well, isn't that part in the middle missing something? Doesn't it go for too long without any vocals?" I asked.

For a moment, Theia looked at Yuki with confusion, like I said something wrong.

"I mean, I don't really listen to this kind of music, so I might be wrong—" I started, until Yuki cut me off.

"Well, uh, we actually wanted to have a feature do a verse here," Yuki explained.

"Ah, I understand now," I nodded. "Yes, that would be interesting. It would definitely add character."

"Have you ever sang before, Mister Ryuzaki?" Theia suddenly asked rather bluntly.

I blinked. "There's a reason you're asking that, isn't there?"

"Of course there is. The microphone is wired up whenever you're ready." She eyed the stand in the corner, where a microphone was indeed connected to a small interface covered in ports and knobs, which itself had a wire extending across the room and into the laptop.

"Sorry? Whenever _I'm_ ready?" I stepped back, looking back and forth to Yuki and Theia, finally realizing what I'd managed to get myself into. Suddenly, I knew why Yuki pulled me in here. And I wasn't having it. "Oh no no no no. This isn't happening."

"Why not?" Theia asked, incredulously.

"My mom said I need to come home right now. Also, I have seven final exams tomorrow morning that I need to study for."

"Isn't it too early in the year for that? Hope's Peak doesn't do written exams, anyway."

"Hey, it'll be fun!" Yuki piped up, grabbing my arm. I hadn't backed up enough. She started swinging it from side to side as she spoke, "Don't worry, it's a short part! I have the lyrics all written out for you!"

I returned her unnervingly solid eye contact and said, "This could potentially be the worst decision for this song! I've never sang before and I don't plan on starting!"

"O- Oh…"

Her grip on my arm loosened and the swinging began to lose its momentum. She broke eye contact. In other words, she may as well have deflated like a balloon.

"That's okay. I'm sorry. You can… leave, if you want."

' _Why is she so overdramatic!?'_

I looked over to Theia, because I thought she could help for some reason. Instead, she gave me an angry look and said, "You made Yuki sad."

I groaned. "Fine."

"Huh?" Yuki's eyes darted back up.

"Give me the lyrics."

"Really!?" she exclaimed with two hundred percent of her enthusiasm from before.

" _Yeah,_ I'll do it."

Anyway, that's how I was featured on a song with the Ultimate DJ and the Ultimate Vocalist. Chika didn't believe me when I told her, but when it released, she didn't return my texts for weeks — to make up for it, I had to organize her to meet with the two (and I heard they had a grand time at the mall). The others made fun of me, but I'm sure they were just jealous.

* * *

 **[A/N: Well, that chapter was definitely fun to write.**

 **The new characters we've been introduced to:**

 **Fumie Chizuru - Ultimate Gambler [CrimsonSkyTamer]. The creator of this OC made some art for the story, which you can find on the forum linked in my profile. Go check it out. Also, Fumie's great.**

 **Kei Mikaku - Ultimate Conspirator [mayurie]. Bit of an oddball. Smarter than you might think.**

 **Yoshio Natsumura - Ultimate Firefighter [ ]. Lemme tell you, I was smiling so much reading through the form for this character. The 'extinguishing the flames from Hell' line is directly from the form. Love it.**

 **Akuma Buredo - Ultimate Street Fighter [Revolution921]. So, Rev is a friend of mine from this site that I met a while back now, and he's known for writing some super cool stuff and making cool characters. He recently approached me with an absolutely amazing character that I had to take in. The roster is now at 19 — but every single character has a different role to play, and Akuma's will be great. His screentime was a bit short, but the form gave me a lot to play with as time goes on.**

 **And then after that was the collab scene with the DJ and the Vocalist. So far, that's my highlight of the story. I've been talking with the creators of those characters about this forever and all of us were hella excited for it. Think it turned out well.**

 **As with the last chapter, I just wanna ask: what's your thoughts? Favorite character? Favorite scene? Let me know. Either drop a review or swing by the discussion forum. Again, there'll be a link to the forum in my profile.**

 **I think that's all for me right now. Tomorrow's Thanksgiving in Canada, and it's already 1 am. I have one of those huge family dinners going on so I'm gonna try n sleep… gotta be well rested to be prepared for all that food y'know? Alright, take care y'all, see you around. Come say hi in the forums.]**


	5. chapter -1-3

**[A/N: Well, this ended up longer than I was expecting it to. Oh well. It's been a while since I last updated anyway, so I think that's fine. That said: the fact that we're now about 25 thousand words in and we're still in the prologue is kinda hilarious. I think I like writing slice of life more than I realized... eh. We'll get to the main stuff soon, I swear. Here's the replies to reviews now.**

 **Revolution921:** Yup, I'm excited to show off Akuma. Maybe we'll get a training montage with him and Hiroto sometime. Also, if anyone wants to write out the lyrics to Hiroto, Yuki, and Theia's song, I... wouldn't be able to pay you anything, but I'd definitely gush about it for all eternity.

 **TheRoseShadow21:** Thanks, I'm making sure to go back and visit older introductions throughout this chapter. I agree that it adds a nice flow, and it's important that I get a lot of screentime for everyone. I like your character taste btw, I have to agree those are some of my favorites (as hard as it is for me to pick favorites out of this cast). Kei has a lot of potential for the rest of this story so stay tuned ;)

 **AcapelTorien:** Thank you for the review :) I did enjoy Thanksgiving, but I feel like I'm still full from all the food I had. Akuma's name is definitely cool: his full name means "demon blade", which is kinda insane. Glad you enjoyed the characters.

 **Without further ado, here's chapter -1-3.]**

* * *

 **chapter -1-3**

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"You know what I've noticed about this place?"

"Yeah, what's that?"

"Whenever I come visit the Reserve Course building, I get these weird looks from people until they see me around you guys, and then they immediately mind their business."

"Well, duh. They know you're part of the Main Course. Also, most of them know the Ryuzaki family, too. You forget they made movies about us back in the day."

I sat in the courtyard outside the Reserve Course building along with my siblings to catch up on the last two weeks or so. It's only the second time I've done this, but the atmosphere of the more quiet rich folk around here was almost oppressive - especially towards a Main Course student like myself. There was almost no comparison between the liveliness I was used to and what I was seeing here.

"The three of you made a name for yourselves then, huh?" I asked in response to Tokiko. "I mean, you're all stuck in those uniforms. It's not like any of you _look_ like yakuza."

"Meh. It's just Katsu, to be honest," she said with a casual shrug, giving a side look in his direction, "like, look at him. He looks sketchy as hell."

I did. Surprisingly, he looked fine.

"Did I not literally get a haircut like two days ago?" Katsu defended himself with a roll of his eyes. Then there was a flash in them, like an idea had sparked in his head, before he turned to me. "Hey, Hiro. You wouldn't know an 'Ultimate Barber', would ya?"

"I do believe one of my senpai is an Ultimate Hair Stylist."

"Hit him up for me sometime."

"Yeah, sure." I decided not to tell him the person in question is a 'her' and that I didn't have any means of correspondence. But chances are, he had already forgotten that he even asked.

"So, what's goin' on with you anyway? How's the Main Course treatin' ya?" Katsu asked, leaning back in his seat with a tilt in his head.

"It's been alright. Exhausting as well, to be honest. It seems like somebody is always up to something." I spoke, truthfully.

"Oh yeah? Got any good stories yet?" Katsu grinned in excitement.

"I do. I met somebody you might know. The name 'Akuma' ring a bell?" I asked.

Katsu shook his head. His grin fell short as he seemingly struggled to remember the name.

"Ultimate Street Fighter. Says he fought with you once, and he sees you around sometimes."

His eyes widened, and he smacked the table we sat at in recognition. " _That's_ the guy! Shit, I was wondering where I recognized him." he said. Katsu shook his head once again, this time in dismay rather than response. "Ugh. Yeah, I know him. He messed me up pretty good that day, dude. I'm not surprised he's in the Main Course."

"What is it with you and getting into fights, anyway?" Tokiko jabbed, raising a brow. "Is it fun or something?"

"When I win, yeah."

"Which happens how often...?"

"Half the time, I win every time."

"Yeah, and the other half you end up in the hospital."

"I'm also being featured on a song," I intervened. If I didn't, the bickering never would've stopped. Something I learned after growing up with the two.

What I didn't account for was Chika, who had been sitting with us wearing her headphones, to hear me. She blinked, paused her music, and looked at me while taking her headphones out. "Hang on, you're what?"

 _'Shit. She's going to be jealous.'_

"I may or not have a verse on a collab with Theia Mikaelsson and Yukiwi," I stated flatly, knowing the best way out of this was straight through.

Chika stared at me with blank eyes for about a solid minute. I stared back. Katsu and Tokiko confusedly stared at each other.

"I don't believe you." Chika finally said with narrowed eyes.

"Huh? What's that mean, now? Didn't I tell you I met them?" I asked. To be honest, that wasn't the response I was expecting.

"You wouldn't just leak the existence of a collab between the two most talked-about artists of this _generation_ , would you?"

"That wasn't entirely intentional, but if I had something to do with it - which, I may remind you, I do - then that's exactly something I would do."

Well, at least Chika wouldn't blab about it. I just hoped there weren't any paparazzi around that I didn't know about.

"Uh huh. I still don't believe you, but if I see your name next to Yukiwi on the charts any time soon, I _will_ kill you."

There it is. "Understood," I said with a nod.

Chika put her headphones back in, and went back to scrolling through whatever it was that she was scrolling through on her phone. There was a pause in the conversation, and I took the chance to stand up and stretch. I looked around to do some casual people-watching.

 _'Maybe the Reserve Course students aren't necessarily stuck-up, but the Main Course students are simply... on another level.'_

Everything did seem rather normal. People were sitting on benches, some on the grass, some walking about with their friends. But the endless vat of excitement that was the Main Course was simply incomparable. Maybe this is what school is supposed to be like, I thought.

"Hey, wanna sneak into the Main Course building with me on Friday?"

As if on cue, I heard the Main Course be mentioned somewhere off to the side. However, its use was curious, so I slyly tuned in to see what the Reserve Course students were talking about.

"'Sneak in'? Aren't we allowed to go in anyway?"

"Not to watch a basketball game."

"You mean the first game of the year's happening already!? Wait, is it always this soon?"

"Uhh, in the Main Course of Hope's Peak Academy? Of course it is! I think the team's still accepting members, though."

"Ohh. I guess it's just a practice."

"Yeah. Still, you know what sporting events at Hope's Peak are like, don't you wanna experience one yourself?"

"You sound like a car salesman. You're right though, I'll come with."

 _'Huh. I think I heard about this basketball game coming up.'_

I knew Katsu was listening, because he was looking in the two kids' direction rather obviously (he was taught discretion like I was, but he doesn't care to ever utilize it).

"You wanna check it out?" I asked him.

"The basketball game? Naw. I've got plans Friday. Besides, I think people will recognize me," Katsu replied.

"Ah, your loss. Tokiko?"

It was Tokiko's turn to blankly stare at me. She does it best, though. Her eyes go half-lidded, and puts on the most exaggerated frown you'll ever see, then goes on a tirade that involves calling you several names in a row: "Dude. _Dude._ You fool. You goddamn idiot. You _know_ I hate sports, you absolute _buffoon_." She only came up with four unique names this time around, so it wasn't so bad.

Ignoring Tokiko as I usually do, I looked over at Chika, who still had her headphones in. I knew she was relaxing and likely wouldn't be interested anyway, so I didn't bug her. This was probably a fine decision, as the bell rang just moments later.

"Oh, dammit!" Katsu swore, eyes darting to his bag slung over the chair. "I forgot to eat my lunch again!"

"How the hell do you forget to eat _lunch!?_ " Tokiko bluntly retorted, gesturing toward Katsu's bag for emphasis.

"Ugh. Whatever, I'll eat in math, it's not like the teachers care anyway," he said, getting up and gathering his things. The rest of us began to do so as well, with the others scattered around slowly making their way back inside. "What's your plan now, Hiro? You heading to class?" he asked.

 _'Technically, class starts now at the Main Course building too, but...'_

"Mm. I decided to take today off," I said, "I might go for a walk off-campus."

"Oh, look at you. Mister 'Attendance Isn't Mandatory' over here," Katsu teased.

"Damn right. Get to class already." Two can play at that game.

"Yeah, yeah," he said, beginning to walk away. As he did, he flipped me off from over his shoulder. I'd have returned the kind gesture if he were able to see it, but otherwise, it would be a waste.

Tokiko was ready to go, and Chika needed another moment to pack away her headphones and such. Tokiko faced me and said, "Hey, this is gonna sound kinda depressing, but doing this is more fun than hanging out with anyone else here. You better come visit some more, yeah?"

"Noted," I gave a thumbs up in affirmation, which she gave a weird look at, then headed on her way.

"See you soon, Hiro," Chika said, before heading off herself. I waved (a slightly less awkward gesture).

With that, I was left to my own devices, lacking any sort of responsibility that needed attention. I used my newfound freedom to leisurely stroll toward the gates.

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It was the first day that spring that I didn't need my coat. Not having any particular aim for the day that morning, I wasn't too caring of what I took out of the closet, but I still opted to throw on a black blazer. It didn't feel right to not at least have one relatively 'formal' article of clothing when I was outside. Running into other Ryuzakis who recognized me as its next boss but saw me in a hoodie was always a bit awkward. Katsu might be able to get away with tracksuits rather than real suits, but I don't always have that luxury. Thankfully, I owned a casual blazer that fit comfortably and appeared clean enough, so no one would object when I wore it over a white t-shirt as opposed to having to deal with dress shirts (have you _ever_ had one stay unwrinkled and tucked in?).

The only issue, then, was to figure out how to spend the afternoon. I realized there wasn't much I could do by my lonesome that both interested me and wouldn't ruin my reputation - being caught belting out a tune at the karaoke bar, for example, is one of my worst fears - so I decided to cut the walk short by visiting a nearby cafe. In all honesty, the tea I can make in the dorm lobby is better than the tea I can buy, and I had a revived interest in karaoke after recording that verse the other day, but at least it was an outing.

...

A boring outing, I realized, sipping tea and watching people go by through the window. It was strange. I usually quite enjoyed time by myself, as it gave me time to reflect and think. While I'd never drop the habit of taking a breather, I was starting to get used to spending such a large amount of my time around others.

I made my way back to the dorms, thinking I'd run into somebody, as I usually did. It happened on the way there.

Somebody, whom I didn't notice was slinking out of the comic book shop I passed by, nearly knocked me over. I was probably distracted by the comics in the window. When I instinctually went to apologize, I realized I recognized the person in question as a classmate. Well, kinda recognized, anyway. The problem was that the two of us hadn't ever spoke a word to one another. In fact, I couldn't recall hearing a word from him at all.

We did that awkward thing where we looked at each other for a bit too long, trying to decide whether we knew each other or not. Then, once it was established that we only kinda knew each other, came the harder part of deciding if we kinda knew each other enough to say hello, or if it should be a smile in acknowledgement, or nothing at all. This resulted in both of us managing a failed mishmash of the latter two options and offering a graceless closed-mouth half-smile.

 _'Crap. He's awkward too. Now what?'_

I steeled myself, thinking that this is actually a great opportunity. Attending Hope's Peak could mean that I may evolve into the most social butterfly I've ever been and finally break out of my shell, and it starts with the uncomfortable encounters like this one.

"Comic books," I said.

"Yeah," he replied.

 _'...'_

"..."

"You liking Hope's Peak?" I asked, scrambling to establish common ground.

"I think so. Are you?"

"I am."

"..."

 _'...'_

"We haven't met, right?" he said.

"No. No we haven't," I confirmed, shaking my head, "but I know we are classmates."

"Yes, I recognize you," he offered a smile (a better one than what I pulled off earlier), "It's nice to meet you. I'm **Eli,** the **Ultimate Comic Book Writer.** "

 _'Ah! Great, this isn't going as terrible as I thought it would for a while there.'_

"Absolutely. My name is Hiroto, Ultimate Peacekeeper. I apologize for that," there was a beat as I thought of how to word it, "ehm, entire interaction. You'd think my title would come with better communication skills."

"No, it's fine. I was homeschooled, so, I understand," Eli said.

Eli stood before me with what I noted to be a rather androgynous appearance, though it seemed to lean towards what I'd consider traditionally masculine (accounting for the fact he seemed to be American). His hair was dark brown, pulled back from his face into a ponytail that reached the mid back. Eli's skin was pale, which seemed natural enough, but in general he had a somewhat unhealthy and frail build. Though, that was a bit hard to tell, as he wore a hoodie with the graphic of a comic book character on it, and under the hood I saw the collar to a white button-up shirt. Under it was a pair of black slacks that looked comfortable enough, and a pair of sneakers. Finally, he had a pair of black gloves covering his hands.

I nodded in response to Eli. "I see. How are you handling being at Hope's Peak now?"

"It's a bit hard to deal with sometimes," Eli said after a pause, and I noticed him subtly tugging at the wrist of his glove. "but if I take time off like I am today, it shouldn't be so bad."

 _'Yeah, I can relate.'_

Neither of us said anything for a moment, and I looked into the comic book store again. A thought came to me as I did. "You see any of your comics in here?" I asked.

"Y-Yeah, actually. I'm, uh, I'm one of the main writers for the 'Ace' series," he said with modesty.

I'd heard about the books. If I remember correctly, the series is about a superhero and was popular to begin with, but there was a boom in readers after a young and openly genderfluid fan was hired to the writing team - they were writing their own comics about the hero in question, published to the internet where they grew an awfully large following.

 _'Huh. Is Eli the writer I'm thinking about?'_

"Sounds familiar. I think I'll go check it out," I said.

"Really? Do you like comics?" Eli asked. He had that twinkle in his eyes that people had when they started talking about something they were passionate about. This area of work being his Ultimate title, that didn't really surprise me, but it was still nice to see.

"I do read more manga, if I'm being honest. But I can see the appeal in Western comic books."

"Oh, manga's great! I moved here so I can study under a Japanese publishing company," Eli explained. His voice rose nearly an octave and had a burst of excitement behind it. "What's your favorite manga?"

"I'm not sure if I have a favorite. I enjoy horror and action, though." Yeah, I have edgy interests. Sue me.

"Those are great genres! I love action, especially when there's a good antagonist who the protagonist - oh, and the deuteragonist if there is one - can overcome. Or not, I like when the antagonist wins too. But I feel like a well written antagonist is rare nowadays. You see, I think that..."

Eli continued on for a while. There was no way I was going to cut him off, so I tried as best as I could to follow.

"...and that's why the deeply sown political undertones of the 1940s Golden Age of Western comics made them so memorable." Eli looked at me for a second with this smile on his face, but I think he was rather looking _through_ me, because he blinked and suddenly regained focus, as if he had just then returned to his body. "Oh no. I rambled again, didn't I?"

"Eli, that was amazing, and my only grievance is that I don't know enough about the topic to give a meaningful response."

"Haha... th-thanks. Um, I-I'm going to head back to the dorms now. Bye Hiroto." Eli stuttered, returning to the awkward state I met him in. He shakily waved a hand and backed away a step, before turning on his heel and speedwalking away.

 _'Right, then.'_

 _'Suppose I might as well take a look at his comic.'_

After that conversation, I stepped inside the comic book store, with the ring of a bell following me as the door closed. I recognized a few other Ultimates taking the day off, though they were from different classes than my own. Aside from them, the small store was nearly empty. I approached the front desk, where an older male ran the cash register. He saw me and did nothing more than raise a brow to ask what I wanted.

"Hi. Where would I find the 'Ace' series?" I asked him.

"'Ace'? Y'know, I swear the new writer was just here. Kid looked just like them," he replied, "anyway, if I have any left, they would be in the middle there. Think I'm almost out, though; the things sell like hotcakes."

I thanked him and followed the directions, quickly finding an issue at the top of a pile. I wondered if Eli was reading it before he left. Nevertheless, I picked it up and flipped to the cover page to check the credits.

 _'There's an 'Elliot Miller' credited here. I guess Eli is pretty close to Elliot, right? Well, let's see what this comic's about.'_

 _'...'_

 _'Ace can shapeshift, huh? Interesting.'_

I leaned against the shelf, making sure I wouldn't knock it or any of the comics over. The dialogue and scenario were impeccable and I'd found myself absorbed, so I ended up spending some time at the store.

.

.

.

.

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The day passed by fairly quickly.

That evening, after putting in another workout and eating with Akuma again, I found myself in the dormitory lobby. I didn't want to head up to my room just yet. So, I relaxed on a chair, flipping through the pages of the Ace issue I bought earlier. It was another busy night and people were all around. Some were sitting on the nearby sofa with a portable gaming console, hosting an impromptu video game tournament. I assumed it was a fighting game on account of the frequent expletives from each player. Recognizing the Ultimate Hypnotherapist in the mix - Mariko, that is - I gave her a wave on the way in.

"I didn't know you read that comic, Hiroto." said an unfamiliar voice from behind me, by the tea kettle.

Puzzled, I craned my neck over the back of the chair to see who it was. Her appearance didn't ring any bells, but I only saw her back as she prepared her tea. "Sorry? Are you supposed to know something like that?" I casually questioned, not really taking her seriously.

"Since this is the first I've heard of it, you must be reading it for the first time?" she asked, ignoring me.

 _'Why do so many people know me? And why is she acting like she knows so_ much _about me?'_

"Who are you?"

" **Marine Roux, Ultimate Information Broker.** I already know quite a bit about you, so let's skip the formalities, shall we?"

She turned to face me, and once I saw her face, I did realize that I've seen her in class - it's just that she was another classmate who I've never heard a word from. Her hair was light brown and curly, coming down to just past her shoulders. It framed her face of which I would call mature, with a beauty mark just next to her lip. It seemed as if she only broke five feet tall with a skinny frame and a fair skin tone. Marine was dressed in a navy blue blazer over a light blue blouse, tucked into a pencil skirt with a belt around the waist. I noted she wore diamond earrings and had a metal cuff bracelet on one wrist, and curiously, had a red bandana tied around her neck.

"Interesting. Just what exactly do you know about me, Marine?" I asked, carefully.

"Everything, _Ryuzaki,_ " she responded, coldly. She returned to her tea.

"Mm. I see. Why tell me this? Trying to intimidate me?" I commented. She was worrying me, but she didn't provide any concrete proof to her claims. I returned to my comic book.

"Relax, Peacekeeper. You'd do right to avoid giving me attitude."

"You haven't given me a reason for that-"

"How many people know you're yakuza? Better yet, does the police know?"

I froze.

 _'What...?'_

I wasn't sure why, but in one fell swoop, my body had gone cold as ice and rigid as steel. The book in my hands nearly fell to the floor - or, as far as I was concerned, the void that had encompassed the world around Marine and I. Sure, I've been threatened before, and this _is definitely not_ the first time I reacted poorly to such a thing, but Marine had caught me entirely off guard. She was different; maybe it was the subtle comment that forced me to acknowledge that she _did_ know a lot about me. Maybe it was her frosty cold nature as opposed to the shouting that most yakuza I knew were keen about. Whatever it was, I had a newfound respect for her words.

In an attempt to ground myself, I swallowed, took a breath, and slowly returned myself to the crowded dormitory lobby. Warm, yellow lights from above reentered my vision, as did the carpet and coffee table. Idle chatter around me became apparent again. After a long pause, I replied.

"Who... the fuck are you?"

"I hope you'll excuse me," Marine said with her back turned and with a lack of sincerity, "I just wanted to make myself known to you."

"Yeah? You've made your point. What do you want?" My voice was a low rumble that did little to hide the fact that I was struggling to make it heard. Its pace quickened unintentionally.

"Right now? Nothing. However, I am in contact with some people you may know: the Matzushita-kai, I believe they're called," Marine said, coolly.

My mind flashed back to my failed attempt to bargain with the clan; the resulting gunfight. I didn't think a civilian, if that's what Marine really was, would mention their name to me.

"And what about them?"

"They would pay top dollar for some inside information on the Ryuzaki-gumi, you know. I haven't decided if I'll take it just yet, but who else would be a better source than the heir to the throne?"

"How do you know that I'm...?"

"Like I said, I'm in contact with the Matzushita-kai. They've given me information as well."

"Okay. Why should I tell you anything?"

"Your siblings attend Hope's Peak as well, don't they? I know some Matzushita enforcers-"

And that was the breaking point.

I can only describe it as a force that overtook my body as I shot up to my feet, redirecting my anxiety towards adrenaline. The book slipped out of my hands onto the floor, startling the others on the sofa, and getting the attention of Marine, who looked up at me with amusement. Without getting in her face, I walked around the chair to close some distance.

"If you know so much about me, then you know that I didn't ask for this 'Peacekeeper' title, right?" I whispered, so that no one else would be able to hear. "I know _'enforcers'_ too."

Threatening was... not my style. Had I been in a better state of mind, I would never have done that, but I refused to take chances after what happened to Chika. I already swore to myself on that.

Marine paused. The kettle behind her started to whine.

"I knew your precious siblings would be the key," she said, returning the hushed tone. To my annoyance, she _smirked._ "Has anyone seen this side of you before?" she taunted.

I tried to think of a comeback, but nothing worthwhile came to mind. It seemed like a better option not to respond at all - so I didn't.

Marine poured the hot water out of the kettle into a teacup, and put everything she needed away. "To be honest with you, Ryuzaki, I don't know if I want to be in the middle of a yakuza war. But I suppose _I_ wouldn't be. After all, information would be the cause, don't you agree?"

Again, I didn't respond. Though the burst of energy I felt was dissipating and fading into confusion with where she was going with this.

"If information - the information that you would give me - doesn't spread, this war won't escalate. The livelihood of your clan seems to be in my hands..." Marine continued.

"You're getting yourself involved in something you don't want to, Marine. Trust me," I warned, or, at least tried to.

"Or what, the Peacekeeper's going to kill me?"

"No, but I can't guarantee what the others won't do. So, please, take my advice and leave this alone." I spoke truthfully. Yes, I didn't want her threats to become reality, but it was fact that she would be endangered.

Marine had a pensive look on her face for a moment, as she took a sip from her cup (and found it to be too hot). Placing it back on the counter, she replied.

"Perhaps your peacekeeping methods truly are Ultimate-worthy, Ryuzaki. I will give it some thought. Do stay in touch, hm?"

Marine smiled again, and with that, she took her cup and walked towards the elevators.

Left alone, I glanced around the lobby, and saw that no one had been any the wiser as to what just happened. While I did get a few glances from the sofa, everyone was clearly more involved in the game. Others floating about the room never gave any notice to me. Considering I'd been stifling a full-blown panic attack, this was fine with me. I made my way back to my room with my thoughts on what Marine told me.

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.

The interaction was still on my mind when I arrived at homeroom the next morning. I decided I'd have to ignore Marine, so when I walked past her, I didn't make eye contact, and silently settled in at my usual seat.

 _'Ah, that's right. I wasn't in class yesterday.'_

I felt it was important that I put on a front like Marine's threats did nothing to faze me, so I figured I would pretend I was more interested in schoolwork than I really was. The teacher was yet to arrive, so I turned to the male sitting next to me.

"Morning, **Warren.** Were you in class yesterday?" I asked.

Warren Graves, dressed professionally as he always was, turned his head. "Hey, good morning. I was. Don't worry, you really didn't miss anything. There might be a lesson in English today, but I'm from the States anyway; I'll help ya out if you need it."

"Ah, thank you, Warren," I replied. I only started getting to know him recently, mostly because I made a point to make contacts out of those who sat next to me in class. I found out he was the **Ultimate Neurologist,** smart, and easygoing, all at the same time. I was glad to have met him.

For a few moments, the class was rather quiet, with a few people making small talk and others clicking smartphone keyboards. The telltale shutter of a morning selfie came somewhere in Ashlynn's direction. Attendance was decent that morning - it felt like after the day we had that storm, more people were starting to show up to class. That said, I did notice that the firefighter I bumped into at the weight room, Yoshio, wasn't present again. After I greeted some of the newcomers, Warren suddenly leaned in close and allowed a glint off his silver watch.

"Hey, Hiroto. Hope you don't mind that I ask, but is everything alright with that Marine girl?" he asked in a hushed tone, nodding upward toward the girl sitting at the front. "Saw you guys arguing last night. If it's just a lover's quarrel, then I'll drop it, but-"

"It's not." I said, shutting down that theory immediately. Sighing, I took a finger and a thumb to rub the bridge of my nose and asked, "You were in the lobby, huh?" My elbow rested on the desk.

"Yeah. You might've heard me and the others making a ruckus with the video games nearby. Sorry about that."

"You're a gamer?" This was news to me, so I moved my hand to glance at Warren from the side in surprise. I didn't notice him at the time, but I chalked it up to the possibility that he wasn't wearing a shirt and tie.

"It helps my dexterity," he claimed.

"Oh. Right."

"So? What happened?"

"Warren, if you heard any specific details during our discussion, do me a favor and forget what you heard."

"Gotcha."

"Wait, so you _did_ hear specific details?"

"Not really, I wasn't paying close enough attention. But I'll forget it ever happened."

"Thanks."

I was equally thankful that the homeroom teacher had walked in at just about that point and grabbed our attention. Flanking her were three young students that I'd seen around before, usually around other members of staff. I noticed one had a stack of pamphlets in their hands.

"Morning, everyone," the teacher greeted nonchalantly, walking to the front of the class. A few of us returned the pleasantries before she continued, "These students are members of the Student Council, and they have an important announcement to make. Since they're here doing this face to face, listen up, okay?"

"Sounds serious, huh?" Warren murmured to me, "Wonder what's up."

"Who knows. It's probably nothing-" I attempted to respond. However, the one holding the pamphlets stepped up in front of the class and interrupted me.

"Gooooo _ooooooooo_ oood morning! How are we doing today!?" he bellowed, with an energy I hoped he knew was present in nobody but himself. Most of us (myself included) did not answer the question but instead gave an incredulous stare. Akihiro, seated in his wheelchair in front of me, put his face in his hands and I heard him mutter something that sounded regretful about showing up to class. Eventually, enough people gave the Student Council guy a response that he continued with his presentation.

"Honestly, I don't even need to be here. Cuz you guys already know what's happenin' tomorrow, right?" Again, he prompted the class to reply. After an entirely too awkward silence, Warren decided to raise his hand.

 _'Warren, you're making a heroic sacrifice.'_

Student Council Guy acknowledged Warren by pointing at him with a strange pose that he seemed to have lifted out of a manga and said, "You!" This was followed by an audible facepalm from a member of his own entourage. "What's happenin'?"

"I'm gonna go ahead and take a guess that you're here to advertise the basketball game, right?" Warren replied, raising a brow as he asked.

"Damn right! Hell yeah-"

One of his friends came up from behind him, putting a hand on his shoulder and cutting him off. "Yes, that's right. We wanted to let you know that it starts tomorrow at five o'clock in the gymnasium on the first floor." Her demeanor was far calmer, and was well appreciated.

 _'That's right, huh? Tomorrow is Friday. Shame Katsu can't make it.'_

"It's gonna be _lit!_ " the first guy exclaimed to add on to the excitement. I didn't know exactly what he meant just then, but Warren quickly told me it was English slang after wincing at an apparent failed pronunciation.

The third student stepped forward and said, "Every Main Course student is invited. There'll be music, snacks... y'know, all that stuff. For free. So tell your friends, okay? Uh - as long as they're not Reserve Course, I mean."

 _'That's awfully on the nose.'_

"Will that be all?" the teacher asked. A flash of surprise came across her face after that last part, so I think she was ready to get this moving.

"One moment, sensei! We made these pamphlets!" said Student Council Guy. He raised the pamphlets in the air, before splitting the stack into groups for the three to pass around the class. They didn't tell us any more than what we were just told, including a line of fine print stating the event was for Main Course students only, but I had to commend the style. For the brief moment I spent reading through it, I wondered if Student Council had an Ultimate Graphic Artist on call.

Once everyone had a pamphlet on their desk, the three said a few more words before our teacher decided we really needed time to study and that they should just move on to the next class already. It was a bit of a bluff, but I felt sorry for the classroom next door. I easily heard Student Council Guy yelling through the walls, followed by the defeated slap of a resounding facepalm. I had a feeling it was from someone in his own group.

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 **[ the next day ]**

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To say energy was high within the gymnasium would be an understatement. Even inside the locker rooms, the blaring music was loud as day. Yoshio Natsumura always did like music, but that evening, he was fueled by his own motivation to help take his team to victory.

The coach made a show of clapping loudly to get the five-player team's attention. "Alright, let's get ready! In five minutes, you're on the court! Just remember, even though the other team's Hope's Peak, there's no slacking off!"

"Yes, coach!" acknowledged the team in a chorus.

The team coach nodded, before leaving to check on the other side. As he did, the music volume rose to where Yoshio felt every beat in his chest. Just feet away was the pregame show to the first basketball game of the year at Hope's Peak; technically, it was only a practice among members of the same team, but that didn't make it any less of a big deal. With both sides competing to win, Hope's Peak players would develop the skills and confidence necessary to win a tournament.

A teammate placed a hand on Yoshio's shoulder, resting on the trapezius muscle developed through a rigorous weightlifting routine. With his attention caught, Yoshio took off his headphones to pause the classic rock he'd been listening to. "Yo. You look pretty athletic. I gotta ask, you play a lotta sports?" he asked.

"Of course!" Yoshio replied excitedly, from his seat on the bench. "Baseball, tennis, rugby, track, you name it!"

His teammate made a confused, scrunched up face for a moment, before quickly acting to hide it. "Really? _And_ you lift weights, right?"

"I take good care of my body. Your body is a temple, you know!" Yoshio said with a smile that seemed to reflect the light in his eyes.

"Pff-" the teammate stifled laughter, having to turn away to hide it. He caught eye contact with another teammate who'd been listening, who just shrugged and pretended he wasn't paying attention. "How do you have all that time, man? You have a job with the fire department too, don't you?" he asked, putting his hand back down by his side.

Yoshio paused for a moment. Still, his smile didn't waver. "Well, I wake up the break of dawn, every morning. I watch the sun rise and start the day early."

"But you don't go to class much, right? Like, no one ever sees you in the building. Out of the weight room, anyway."

Somebody else, clearly eavesdropping, chuckled from across the room. Another person nearby whispered for him to 'stop', in between his own quiet laughs.

"That's right. I would much rather take care of my body than waste time in class," Yoshio said with confidence, "I grew up working on a farm, you know. I'm used to hard work! But that doesn't matter. You hear that?" he asked, pointing a thumb behind him toward the door. The light flooding underneath the door had dimmed and the crowd began to cheer, presumably for the entrance of the other team. "That's our cue! Let's get out there!" Yoshio exclaimed with vigor, getting on his feet and heading to the door.

His teammate stood still for a moment after, watching Yoshio's back as he opened the door for the coach to get the team ready for their entrance. The remaining four members had nothing to laugh at. "We should join him, huh?" said one, to which the others agreed, equal parts intimidated _and_ inspired.

On the court, Yoshio's team was greeted with a light show, a live DJ, and cheers from every seat in the bleachers. He quickly spotted his grandfather in attendance as well as a few others from his hometown - they figured if they were going to come by to visit, Yoshio's first basketball game of the year would be a good time. While waving to the crowd, Yoshio made sure to give them extra attention.

In the moments before the game began, the team huddled together to form a plan of attack. The others agreed that Yoshio would succeed in a defensive role, stating that his larger stature would slow him down for anything more offensive. Yoshio decided that would be fine, confident in his versatile ability with the sport.

An alarm went off to signify the game would begin shortly. "Okay, everyone!" Yoshio said, "Remember to play strong and give it your all!"

"Oh, come on, man..." said a teammate through a sigh. "Just because the coach said 'no slacking off' doesn't mean it's _that_ serious. We know it's only a practice."

Yoshio's tight grip on the jerseys of his teammates loosened as he gave him a stern look. "'Only' a practice? Does that mean you don't care about this game tonight?"

"Not really. I'm gonna be late to a party."

"Well... I understand. This game's going to be hard. But if you don't care to give this your all and improve, how will you give _anything_ your all?"

"Inspirational speaker, much?" someone murmured.

The other teammate stared at Yoshio for a moment, and eventually rolled his eyes in defeat. "Okay. Sure. I'll give it my all, big guy."

"Great!" Yoshio exclaimed, "Now let's get out there!"

"Yeah, yeah."

Soon after, the first quarter of the game began.

After around fifteen minutes of basketball shoes squeaking across the court floor, shots bouncing off the rim, and expired shot clocks, the telltale siren and music ended the quarter. The score was nil for both teams.

"How the fuck is the score zero-zero after an entire quarter!?" cried one of Yoshio's teammates, after regrouping court side. The others groaned in response, not having anything to suggest. "I've never seen anything like that in my _life!_ "

"Their defense is strong," Yoshio eventually offered, having to raise his voice more than usual to project over the music. "We need to change our offensive strategy!"

"Alright," said the team's point guard, "what're you thinking, man?"

"I'm faster than I look. You and me, let's switch positions!"

The point guard blinked. "Excuse me? _You_ want to play offensive?"

"Oh hell no!" another teammate protested, "Yoshio, we need you as center! You're why they haven't scored anything on us yet!"

"No, they're playing defensively. We need to worry about our offense, not our defense!" Yoshio pointed out in disagreement.

"I don't think I can do center, man. I'm used to being on the frontlines," the point guard said with a frown. "We should keep the positions as they are. Like, I don't wanna risk the other guys getting a basket on me."

"And continue on with this stalemate? Life is all about taking risks! We have to change something if we want to win, that's _always_ the truth!"

"Oh my god," a teammate blurted out, facepalming. When his hand came off his face to glare at Yoshio, he said, "Do you ever shut up? Like do you just always yell?"

For a while, no one said anything. Yoshio simply looked back at him, and paused to consider what he could say to make this right.

 _'No. There's nothing I can say. I'm not going to waste my time on him.'_

"Alright, look," the point guard stepped in, "let's just relax. Maybe big dude has a point, but I don't know if we should switch it up this early. It's only been one quarter. Let's try this again and change it up at halftime, alright?"

Yoshio nodded. "Then let's get ready for the second quarter!"

When the halftime show began, Yoshio's team was down zero to one. The opposing team connected a free throw near the end of the quarter.

The team gathered once more, this time in the locker room. Without the coach - he was with the other team at the moment - no one said a word to one another, opting to do whatever they can to be rested for the second half. Everyone had a bottle in their hands, spritzing out water or another sports drink. Suddenly, the silence was cut by the roaring crowd outside. A curious team member stood to check it out.

"Oh shit. Yoshio, your classmate just showed up on the court," he said.

"Really? Who?" Yoshio asked, unaware of the performance ongoing just outside.

"She goes by, like, Yukiwi, I think."

"Dude, stop playing dumb," teased a teammate from the back, "we all know you listen to her music all the time." This prompted laughter to which the other rolled his eyes at and let the door shut.

"Hey, leave him alone," someone spoke up, "There's a reason she's the Ultimate Vocalist and you're the Ultimate Delivery Driver. I didn't even know they gave out talents for part time jobs!"

"Fuck off, at least I have a car!"

Yoshio didn't understand the back-and-forth slinging of insults, nor did he understand the explosions of laughter that followed each one. The life he grew up in was clearly nothing like this - it was a life where respect and hard work were of the highest of values. A climate where what he perceived as disrespect was not only expected but _encouraged_ didn't make a lick of sense to Yoshio; it was an absurd waste of time. He figured it would be far more useful to discuss the game plan for the second half, but the teasing and joking continued instead.

Eventually, the door opened to allow the performer's vocals to flush in, accompanied by the team coach.

"What's going on here?" he asked, bluntly.

"U-Uh, sorry sir," a team member said, "we were just-"

"I don't care what you were doing in here. What were you doing out _there?_ " retorted the coach, pointing behind him at the now-closed door.

"Their defense is too strong, coach," the point guard replied, "I can't get through to them."

The coach nodded, and looked around the room.

"Yoshio," he finally said, "you're point guard."

Yoshio blinked and looked up from his seat. He hadn't been paying much attention. "R-Really?" he asked.

"What? Coach! That's our defense!" the point guard said in confusion.

"They haven't been playing offensively the entire game. You'll be just fine as center."

"B-But... is Yoshio...?"

"Yoshio's faster than any of you!" the coach answered the obvious question. "You might not pay attention to him in practice, but I do. You need to try something different for once anyway, don't you think?"

Reluctantly, the team decided it would be for the best to at least give it a try.

They quickly found out that Yoshio seemed to never miss a pass, maneuvered around every attempt to block his advance, and he even had a respectable jump height.

As the second half of the game went on, the team began to play differently. Yoshio's fire to win the game and refusal to give up was noticed by his teammates; especially so once he was able to play aggressively. The players became confident in their ability to take the game forward. Communication became frequent, and every member had at least double the amount of assists and passes as the first half. Despite tensions, it was slowly realized that teamwork was succeeding.

The game ended in favor of Yoshio's team, thirty-six to thirty-four. It was a three-pointer at the game's end from Yoshio that brought them the win. An eruption of cheers surrounded the court.

Once everything was finally over, Yoshio was invited to the house party earlier mentioned by a teammate. It seemed as if the others were going as well to celebrate.

"No thanks," Yoshio denied, "my family was in the crowd today. I'm going to see them now."

"Oh yeah? Well, alright," said the previous point guard, "before you go, I gotta say. I'm not very good at it, but playing center was kinda _fun_? Haven't actually enjoyed this game in a while. Not 'till now."

"Like I said before," Yoshio began, dressed in his clothes for the evening. He faced the new center with a smile and said, "life's all about taking risks."

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 **[A/N: hi so this story has become a basketball anime**

 **I'm not even sure what happened with this last part. I knew I wanted to go into the basketball game - it was supposed to be the focus of this update from the very beginning - but I didn't know I'd write an extra 2k words, tbh. At first I wanted to have a short bit where Hiroto attended the game and realized Yoshio was playing. They'd have a short interaction afterwards about it. But this wasn't working for me, and I got the bright idea that I could actually write the game from Yoshio's perspective. One thing led to another and I realized the best way I could do this was to discuss the entire game. But even though this chapter went on for longer than I was expecting, I'm still very happy with it. Hope you guys enjoyed it as well.**

 **Characters introduced today:**

 **Elliot Miller - Ultimate Comic Book Writer [IronYokai]. I think this was the first character (or one of) that I actually knew would be in the roster, one way or another. Elliot is great, and I can't wait to write more.**

 **Marine Roux - Ultimate Information Broker [BillyBioBob]. Before I received this character, I put out an 'update' saying that I needed meaner, less friendlier characters. And uhhhhh boy did Billy deliver. I don't actually know if this form was in response to that, but I took it down shortly after because she fills that role quite well, if you couldn't tell by the delightful interaction with Hiroto in this update. She was part of my goals to hammer in Hiroto's background as yakuza and to break up the fun times and happiness of chapter -1. Just wanted to make it clear I can write more tense scenes. ;)**

 **Warren Graves - Ultimate Neurologist [Strong Style Publications]. Intelligent, has that clean and professional look, lowkey kind of a charmer. Honestly, that's a recipe for one of my favorite types of characters. I'm sure he's going to get along with Hiroto quite well.**

 **And I may as well give an honorary mention to Yoshio Natsumura. I believe he now has the most screentime next to Hiroto himself. Question for you guys leaving reviews: what did you think of this latter section? If it went on for too long, I understand, but I'm more curious about the shift in POV. I realized I'm not able to accurately depict every single character through the limited lens of Hiroto's, so throughout the story, there will be more POV shifts. Mostly in third person, but I can see doing a first person POV of another character. Hiroto will still be the protagonist, but he's just going to share the spotlight. So let me know what you thought about the writing and such of that scene. (For the record, none of the unnamed characters are joining these ones in the roster. So none of Yoshio's teammates, and tragically, Student Council Guy is not part of the roster.)**

 **I'm also going to quickly drop a piece of news on y'all: up until this release, I've been releasing each update as I finish writing them. Then disappearing for like over a month while I write the next update. I'll try to change this so updates are more consistent and frequent, and one of my methods to do this is to start a backlog of chapters. Meaning, once one chapter goes up, the next one is either finished and ready or needs minor edits. This will mean uploads can start happening much faster. This is starting with chapter -1-4: meaning, I'm going to start writing that chapter soon, then work on -1-5 (planning this to be the last part to chapter -1) before uploading it. As a result, chapter -1-4's release may be delayed, but I won't let it go for longer than a month again. I'm also making sure I write at least 500 words per day, so that should help.**

 **For info on what's happening between updates, be sure to check the discussion forum, linked in my profile.**


	6. chapter -1-4

**[A/N: This is it, y'all - this update is the conclusion to chapter -1. By the end, the entire cast will finally be introduced, and the prologue will come to a close. This has been a long time coming, I hope you're all ready for the story to truly begin soon :')**

 **By the way, important side note. I wanted to do it with this update, but I feel like it makes more sense to mention that I'm doing it first. With the next update, I'll be renaming the story to "Distrust". It's the name I used for the RP this story was originally based off, and a little fun fact, I got that name from the original beta name for Danganronpa. Obviously I don't intend to claim ownership of any trademarks, so please don't sue me, Kodaka.**

 **Anyway, reviews.**

 **Birdley:** Glad I can make your day a little better, that's what I do this for :D

 **Revolution921:** Yep, Marine serves as a great antagonist, I think. Keep an eye out for another somewhat antagonistic character this update.

 **IronYokai:** Elliot was a blast to write, thank you again for the submission!

 **TheRoseShadow21:** yo if anyone wants to submit a 20th character named Marnie, I'll accept them (I'm kidding but thanks for the review)

 **Sendokai . Zak:** I hope you got to read all the way to the previous chapter! Yoshio had a rather large appearance towards the end there. Anyway, thank you for everything you've said here, I love to read the longer reviews. As for characters being samey, yeah, I was thinking the same a bit, it's especially apparent in chapter -1-1 in my opinion. I think despite my attempts to change the formula, introduction chapters are going to feel a little awkward in some aspects no matter what. At the very least though, from this point forward, the story will be written much more naturally instead of trying to force all these new characters. So the sameness in some characters will go away, hopefully.

 **I think I might start responding to reviews in PMs... I wanna reply to longer reviews in depth. Yeah, I'll start doing that now. But without further ado, here is the conclusion to the prologue.**

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 **chapter -1-4**

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 _From: Hope's Peak Academy Staff_

 _To: Hiroto Ryuzaki_

 _Subject: Welcome_

 _"Dear Hiroto,_

 _We hope this email finds you well, and settled into the new school year at Hope's Peak Academy. Your class, Class 84th, and the rest of the Main Course are invited to a special ceremony Monday morning at 9:00 AM in the auditorium. The assembly will welcome you, introduce you to staff, announce future events, and motivate you to drive for success throughout the rest of your school year._

 _Please enjoy your evening."_

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School assemblies were always mind-numbingly boring, even at the rather lavish private schools I'd attended, and I had no reason to believe this would be any different. The buzz about the assembly began once the email was sent out the Saturday after the basketball game, and that seemed to be the general consensus, especially among us new students. Our senpai tried to assure us it wouldn't be so bad, but I couldn't trust such a claim.

I was pleasantly surprised to find a nicely lit, air-conditioned room, even with cushioned seats - I'd at least get a nice nap in if it came to that.

"Wooow, these seats are comfortable!" commented a girl as she seated herself besides me, among the natural chaos of having far too many loud teenagers in one room. "I'm shocked."

"Huh. Funny you say that, I was just thinking the same..."

My sentence trailed off as I made eye contact. I'd noticed her before, but not up this close. It felt as if I was looking into a depth as far and wide as the galaxy itself; with her pupils outlined by a light blue halo, blending into a bright and vivid amethyst hue. Surrounding her eyes were long black eyelashes that accented all the colors and somehow managed to make them pop out even more.

"Oh, come now. You're not the first guy to freak out at the eyes, but at least the other ones usually compliment them," she said, though I nearly missed it.

"Uhh," I replied, blinking.

"I'm **Mizuki Akiyama,** the **Ultimate Eye Model,** " she finally explained with a smile, "pleasure to meet you!"

"Yes, absolutely. Somehow, though, your talent makes sense yet it doesn't at the same time," I commented in confusion, having heard the term for the first time.

"Yeah, when people hear the word 'model', they usually think of J-Pop idols before they think of eyeballs," Mizuki said with a laugh. I think she meant it in a joking manner, but there was truth to her words (for me there was, anyway). "Anyway, if you've ever seen an ad for mascara, I was probably in it. Or for contact lenses. Y'know, those things sure sting after a while."

"Right..."

Mizuki's colorful whirlwinds of eyes were in contrast against her pale, fair skin tone, with a clear complexion that left a dewy appearance on her heart-shaped face. Her hair was a soft lilac color that brought out the darker shades of purple in her eyes, flowing free down to her waist, though I noticed in the back she had braided an upper layer while leaving the lower layer loose, straight until it ended in curls. The bangs were kept from her face by a pair of black sunglasses. Another act to bring out her eyes was the black lace halter top she wore, the dark shade making the light blue pop. The top ended just short of meeting her high-waisted jeans, skinny fit and blue in color. In her lap was a sky blue purse that seemed full of items and trinkets - in fact, she opened it to take out a round, compact mirror, and inspect her makeup.

"Are you sure you're not a model for your face, as well?" I asked out of genuine curiosity.

"Aw, thank you!" Mizuki grinned, "But nope. It's just the eyes."

"Oh. I was just curious since you seem to put a lot of emphasis on skincare." In class, I'd seen her take out the same mirror, simply for inspection or to apply makeup. And when I thought about it then, I realized that I never saw her touch her face with her hands, even at times when this gesture would come naturally to others.

"What, can't a girl look cute?" she asked, fluttering her eyelashes at herself in the mirror.

"Touché."

"You haven't told me your name yet, y'know."

"Double touché. Hiroto Ryuzaki, Ultimate Peacekeeper."

"I knew that."

"Eh?" I furrowed my eyebrows, staring at her from the side.

"Don't you know the class rosters are public?"

"I- _triple touché?_ "

"Nah, I'm kidding. I've never looked at them."

 _'She's a real comedian, huh?'_

"I see," I said with a sigh. "So what do you think is going to happen here, anyway?" I asked in an attempt to make a proper conversation, referring to the assembly. "Expecting anything interesting?"

"Nope, I'm just happy the seats are comfy," Mizuki said, shrugging. She placed the mirror back inside her purse and zipped it up.

"Agreed. Hey, aren't we technically in the 'new' building, anyway?" I pointed out, thinking over something I'd heard recently. "Well, I guess it's not really that new if it opened with the 78th Class."

"Well, it's still the new _er_ building. Even if it's six years old now."

"Yeah. I wonder if the old building had cushioned seats."

After a bit more small talk and flowing in of Main Course students, things finally began. A teacher responsible for the Student Council approached the podium on stage, and ordered everyone to quiet down. Here, the response was faster than it ever was in my experience. I chalked it up to the fact that there simply less students in the Main Course than my previous schools.

As I expected, it started off slow. A few important staff members were introduced. Student Council itself was introduced - I recognized Student Council Guy from Thursday, but for some reason, he wasn't given the mic. There wasn't much to take note of from Student Council, though. They mainly went through rules and conduct.

Afterwards, the headmaster was brought on stage. He was familiar, in a strange sense that I couldn't put my finger on. The headmaster was a young man with short, spiked brown hair, with a characteristic point coming out at the top, like a cowlick. He wore a black suit, with the jacket left open over a navy blue sweater vest and beige tie, complementing his olive-colored eyes.

...

Wait...

No, that's... not right.

The headmaster, Jin Kirigiri his name is, he's in his forties. With purple hair, not brown.

...

My apologies.

My memories have not easily been coming to me, and as such I clearly have little recollection of that morning. I assume that means there was little of importance that happened, anyway - it'd be best if we just moved on.

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When the clock in the corner of his smartphone struck an hour past midnight, **Tsutomu Kiyomizu** knew it would be another one of those nights. It wasn't a surprise, because most nights were.

 _'Dammit. I already barely slept last night. I better get a couple hours in before morning.'_

Obviously, the phone screen wouldn't help much in that regard, but it rarely made a difference for Tsutomu anyway. The **Ultimate Toxicologist** had been dealing with his insomnia for a couple of years now, and he'd tried everything.

 _'Whatever, this isn't working. Too restless to knock out right now.'_

He quit the game he'd been tapping at for the last hour, turning on the bedside lamp as he got on his feet. Tsutomu already resigned himself to the very likely possibility that sleep wasn't in the picture that night. Telling himself that if he got tired enough that he wasn't worried about nightmares he could return to his room, Tsutomu went into his closet to pick out a simple outfit to change into. This consisted of a black t-shirt with the graphic of a punk skull on the front, under a long and baggy lab coat in case it was cold (still, he liked to wear it with the sleeves rolled up, which revealed a bit of hair on the forearms). For his bottom half, he changed into a pair of brown cargo shorts and brown sandals. Before going into the bathroom to check himself in the mirror, Tsutomu grabbed a pair of reading glasses and let them rest over his forehead.

In the bathroom, he figured he may as well apply his ear piercings as well. He inserted two pairs of skulls, one pair for each ear lobe. As for the rest of his appearance, it was the same as usual - a gruff, yet casual beard of stubble, blending into his fluffy hair dyed a poisonous-purple, neatly groomed despite the loose fringe that always seemed to stick out over his forehead. Complementing his hair color were his vibrant, deep sea green eyes. Once his ear piercings were carefully in place, Tsutomu sauntered out into the hallway.

As he expected, the lights were out and there wasn't a sound to be heard, except for perhaps the cicadas outside suggesting an incoming summer. Though, he expected not to run into anyone. It was a school night after all.

Surprisingly, a male from his class was seated by his lonesome in the lobby, a lamp illuminating his pen scratching at a notebook.

"Heh? **Kazuya,** right?" Tsutomu asked, casually approaching with his hands in the lab coat's pockets.

The pen scratches stopped as its wielder looked up with a raised brow, to which Tsutomu noticed the utensil's ornate nature. "Yes, that's me," the writer said, "can I help you, or...?"

"Oh, nah. I can't sleep, so I was just takin' a walk is all," Tsutomu explained.

"I see."

He went back to writing, and Tsutomu got to thinking for a moment. He hadn't had a chance to talk to this classmate yet, but the familiarity of his name was subtly burning him to know where he knew it from.

"It's Kazuya _**Watanabe,**_ isn't it?" Tsutomu asked for clarification, "I swear I've read one of your books before. There was a plot twist at the end, right? Where the main character went crazy and joined the bad guys or something?"

"Indeed," Kazuya confirmed, "it was I who wrote that masterpiece - I am the **Ultimate Horror Author,** after all. Now, can you leave? I'm busy here."

Truth be told, Kazuya did look busy. Tsutomu wondered if he was watching the creation of Japan's next bestselling novel. After a dozen releases dating back to when Kazuya was only thirteen, Tsutomu figured late nights writing manuscripts had to be almost routine.

"Alright, man. Do your thing," Tsutomu said with a shrug, before allowing Kazuya to do just that. He headed outside for some fresh air.

Some time later, he realized the futility of what he was really doing. There wasn't any sense pushing back the inevitable. Eventually, he needed to face it.

 _'Standin' around outside isn't gonna do anything about the nightmares...'_

 _'They aren't goin' anywhere. It's my own fault I even have them.'_

 _'Whatever, let's get this over with already.'_

Tsutomu returned to the dormitory hallway. Each door he passed by had a resident presumably in a slumber, indifferent to the world, creating a surreal scene in its silence for those such as Tsutomu who tended to retain consciousness at these hours. He was used to it by now, though. Once he was inside his room, he changed back into the black trunks he wore before, and gambled for restful sleep with his bed being the slot machine; his bet going the night without suffering a nightmare.

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The **Ultimate Historian** found herself in the library a lot these days. There just wasn't a better place for research.

She slowly stepped through the aisle of books, eyeing the shelves from top to bottom for a specific title. It had to be in stock, the website said as much. There just happened to be a particularly large selection at Hope's Peak, and this was a roadblock for the girl. She frowned as she passed through the end of the aisle, as when the carpet opened into the library's reading area, her hands were still void of the book. She knew she didn't pass it by, as when she filed through her near-photographic memory, the name didn't appear.

 _'I told the client I would find what I could about_ that _person... I have to keep looking. On to the next aisle.'_

However, just as she was about to turn into the next aisle, she heard a familiar voice muttering nearby.

"Dammit. Of course it's too high up. Should've expected that."

 _'Does someone need help?'_

Curious, the Historian decided to investigate, returning to a fiction aisle she passed by before. She found a classmate - a boy, sitting in a wheelchair - by his lonesome, staring up at one of the higher shelves with a pinched expression.

"Oh, hello Akihiro," she greeted, making herself known. The lawyer's eyes darted down towards her, as he gave a sigh in relief. "Can I help you with something?"

"Yeah, hey, good timing," he said, letting himself slump back in the chair. This gave him more of an angle to point up with his arm, as well. "You think you can get a book from up there for me?"

"Of course," she agreed with a smile. "Which one?"

"It's that green one. Looks like it's falling apart. See it?"

"Hmm... oh, dear. This one?"

"That's the one. Careful, if you look at it the wrong way the spine's gonna fall off."

"You might be right. One moment, I'm not that tall myself."

"Yeah, well, you're definitely taller than me."

She took Akihiro's advice, taking care to gently place her fingertips around the nearly-collapsing book. "This must be very old," she mused, inspecting the quality of the book. "Papers are quite yellowed... oh, I recognize this author. Late nineteenth century?"

"Huh. You can tell all that?" Akihiro asked, raising a brow.

"I could be wrong," she admitted, "but as the Ultimate Historian, I work with old books all the time. Here you go."

She handed Akihiro the book, who cautiously placed it into his lap. "Really. You might be able to help me then... first, what's your name again? Mari, or something like that?"

"Close. I'm **Ada- _Marie_ Talbot, **but you can just call me Marie," she introduced herself. Her first name was Western, and pronounced 'Muh-ree'; though the second time she said it, it was enunciated as 'Mah-ree-eh', which was far more natural for a Japanese speaker such as Akihiro.

"Oh, I see. You're from America?" Akihiro questioned.

"I was born in America, but I moved here when I was five. I barely remember life back there... this is home to me," Marie replied, giving another docile smile. "Now, you said I might be able to help you?"

"Right. You see, I'm currently trying to find the worst book ever written."

"I'm... sorry?" Puzzled, Marie blinked, tilting her head.

"It's okay, don't apologize. Anyway, I heard about this one online somewhere," Akihiro said, taking a look through the old book's pages. "It was so bad, they stopped printing it after a couple of months and the publisher shut down a couple weeks after that. Now, I've heard of publishers shutting down faster than that, but this might be a respectable candidate."

Confused as she was, Marie couldn't help but be intrigued by where Akihiro was going with this, and why he seemed so invested in it. "Is that so? Why do you say that?"

"It's just _that boring._ Apparently, editors were using it as an example of how not to write for a while. Imagine how embarrassed the author must have been."

"Well, yes, I've only heard the author's name once before but I know it certainly wasn't in a good light," Marie commented, in thought. "That could be it, Akihiro. If I think of a book worse than that, I will let you know."

"Nice. Hey, uh, my arms have been pretty tired for a while, you wanna wheel me to one of the tables?" he asked, jabbing a thumb behind him.

"It'd be my pleasure," Marie accepted, and moved around behind Akihiro to grab the handles to the wheelchair, pushing and getting it rolling out of the aisle.

"Cool. Y'know, you're alright, Marie. And I don't ever say anything like that to anyone, so you should be grateful."

"Aw, well thank you very much," Marie said, before a thoughtful pause. Eventually, she spoke. "Akihiro, can I ask you something?"

"I guess."

"If I'm not mistaken, you are the Ultimate Lawyer, correct?"

"That's right."

"I do not mean any rudeness in this, but... what leads you to spending your time looking for the 'worst book ever written'?"

"What, instead of lawyering or studying, you mean? Saying I'm wasting my time, huh?"

"No, no, not at all," Marie said in defense, shaking her head, even though Akihiro couldn't see it. "It's just not a goal I've heard anyone pursue before."

"Meh. Haven't had a case in a while," Akihiro replied, shrugging. "I mean, someone called up the firm about a misdemeanor case, I think. Forgot the charge. But the court date's not for a few weeks, and we can probably wing it anyway."

"Um, don't you think the facts of the case may be important to know beforehand...?"

"Marie, I'm the _Ultimate_ Lawyer for a reason, I'll be fine."

"I suppose. So there's no other reason for this search, then?"

"Do I need one?"

Marie was grateful to have reached one of the tables in the library's main area. One can only take so much snark.

"I wish you well in your search, Akihiro, but I have my own to get back to now," Marie said, making sure he was comfortable and could reach the table. "Did you need anything else?"

"Nah. I'm good. Hopefully, I don't enjoy this," he replied, opening the book and digging in.

 _'The 84th Class is proving to be full of... interesting individuals.'_

Marie bid farewell, and turned on her heel to consider the line of aisles now before her.

 _'Okay.'_

 _'Now, the person the client was looking for...'_

 _'There's only one more aisle for nineteenth century European history. The textbook I heard about has to be in there.'_

With determination, Marie walked into the aisle.

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Ashlynn enjoyed taking walks through campus on occasion. The surrounding nature wasn't comparable to a park, or a real forest, but it did the job. Once the lunch bell called for the auditorium to empty out, she decided she'd walk around - but food came first. She had a nice salad packed, after all.

Outside, early summer warmth began to sneak its way into Hope's Peak. Ashlynn wasn't ready to ditch her beloved fur coat for the season just yet, but she knew the time was coming. In any case, she didn't have a problem with wearing shorter sleeves, anyway.

Thoughts about the upcoming summer were suddenly halted when something caught her eye.

"Oh my gosh!" she exclaimed, not caring that she was clearly not alone in the courtyard. She crouched down and faced the squirrel sitting by the base of a tree, which was yet to scurry away from the attention. "Hey, little guy!"

The squirrel looked up at Ashlynn with small, beady eyes, which had an effect of melting her heart as animals usually did. She clasped her hands together, happy that the squirrel seemed comfortable around her, but her excitement quickly turned into sadness. "Aw, I'm sorry, I wish I had some food for you. I already ate my lunch..."

Seemingly, it understood what she said, and proceeded to hurry up the tree bark away from her. Ashlynn did expect it to go its way sooner or later, and smiled as it did.

" _Mon chère,_ your care for animals is quite beautiful."

A voice called as someone approached Ashlynn from an angle she hadn't been paying attention to. She turned around to face the person, whom stood before her dressed in a racing suit adorned with dozens of sponsored patches. Her blonde hair was cut short, and this combined with her thin frame gave her a tomboyish appearance.

"Huh?" Ashlynn blurted, confused. "Wait, are you French?"

"Yes," the stranger replied, "I was born in France. You must be from America - if we are both foreigners, then we have so much in common already, don't you think?"

 _'This girl...'_

 _'She's trying to flirt with me right now, isn't she?'_

"Sis, I'm flattered, but if you're flirting with me, you gotta gimme your name at least," Ashlynn said.

She smiled. " _Bonjour._ I am **Lucille DuCarde, Ultimate F-1 Racer.** What's your name, _ma belle_?"

"I dunno what that means Lucy, but I'm Ashlynn White, Ultimate Pole Dancer!"

Lucille was taken aback for a moment, her face and ears immediately being flushed upon hearing Ashlynn's talent. However, she quickly recovered, and with a smooth and flirtatious delivery she said, "I think I would love to see you perform sometime."

 _'Oh no, she is flirting!'_

"Sis, I'm so sorry, but I don't bat for the same team, y'know...?"

"I understand," Lucille said, nodding. She didn't seem too bothered by it. "I just can't help myself around attractive ladies."

"Good thing you're respectable about it. I wish the guys who hit on me were more like you," Ashlynn said with a sigh, lowering her head and making a gesture toward Lucille. "Anyway, hang on. Didn't you say you're a, like, race car driver just now?"

"I did," Lucille confirmed, "They call me the 'Crimson Comet'."

"... _Heh?_ Hold up, who calls you that?" Ashlynn asked in surprise. When she heard the name, she pictured some sort of superhero, not the tomboy in front of her.

"Haha, _pardon._ My Formula One car is red, so the name stuck. I believe the 'Comet' part is from me placing first in so many championships."

 _'Damn, girl's confident!'_

"That's amazing, sis! Do you like, race all over Europe?" Ashlynn asked, half-jokingly.

"I do. In fact, I was scouted for Hope's Peak after winning a race that went all around the continent."

"N-No way!"

The two talked about their respective talents for a short while longer, until the bell of afternoon classes beginning sounded off. Lucille mentioned that they were headed to the same class - to which Ashlynn commented on the amount of foreigners in the 84th Class - and they began to make their way.

The squirrel from earlier seated itself on a long tree branch, watching as the dozens of kids retreated to class.

The courtyard would be alive with the laughter of the students, making the best of their youth.

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 **[ 3 months later ]**

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"Can you guys believe it's already July?"

"Eh? What have you been doing these last few months?"

"Well, nothing out of the ordinary, I guess," Hideaki said in response to Akuma, "I just feel like it went by so fast, y'know?"

Yeah. I had to agree.

I turned my head away from the classroom window, having spaced out of the conversation while waiting for homeroom to begin. "I feel the same," I agreed, "I can't believe summer vacation is in a few days."

"Yeah. I think getting ready for the practical tests made me forget all about it."

"Mm. Watching you make that live spray paint piece was pretty amazing, Hideaki."

"Thanks Hiroto," Hideaki replied, flashing a grin. "Your performance was interesting, too. The judges put you in some scary scenarios."

"They sure are creative," I said, grimacing a bit at the events of recent weeks. "When they gave me that phone to talk my way out of nuclear war with an enemy state, I didn't know what to do."

"You froze up for a second after answering the phone, didn't you?" Akihiro commented from in front, bringing himself in the conversation since he happened to be in the vicinity anyway. "I thought they were going to fail you after that. But hey, you got into it pretty fast."

 _'Hey now, I was trained by my own father on how to say the right thing to people. Though his context was to make deals with other yakuza, not prevent all-out warfare.'_

"Yeah, no. Those old dudes really are creative. They made up a condition affecting the entire nervous system and had me improvise a cure on the spot," Warren added, giving a frown.

"Hey. Hiroto had a point earlier," Akuma spoke up again, "Summer vacation really is starting soon. Plans, anyone?"

Once more, I looked outside the tall pane window to my side, tuning into the buzzing cicadas outside. Summer _was_ here, even if class hadn't been officially placed on hold. I stopped wearing that grey peacoat, partly because I wore it so much that people started to poke fun, but there was just no longer any sense. It was shorts and polo season for me. In the last couple months, people saw me with short sleeves on occasion, and were getting used to seeing the tattoos. I got a few questions about them, and a few more people know of my yakuza background now - Marine, the information broker that threatened me at the beginning of the year, decided to make no act on that part - but that's fine. I valued the prevention of heat stroke over keeping that a secret.

As I eyed the bright sunlight bleeding through lime green plantlife outside, I thought about what to do for the summer, and was coming up blank. The others grew silent for a moment to consider the same.

"You know..." Warren said, looking past me and through the same window, "Most of us are graduating next March, right? This is our last summer of high school."

He's right. Everyone in this group is eighteen by the end of the year. There's some people in the class who aren't graduating yet, but Hope's Peak seems to be set up in a way that the classes are not split up by age. I figured it had to do with the relatively smaller numbers of Main Course students.

"That's scary, dude. We gotta do something fun this summer," Hideaki said, looking around at one another.

"You," I butted in, looking at Akuma, who just raised a brow. "You have to introduce me to your gym, stat. I've become dependent on the weight room and I don't want my workout routine to be cut short."

Akuma returned the look for a moment, and shook his head. "I don't go to a gym outside of Hope's Peak, man. I always got my exercise from fights."

"You're joking. After all the time we spent in the weight room these last few months."

"If you find a good gym, you're welcome to let me know."

Damn it. To be fair, when I worked out with Akuma, it tended to be bodyweight exercises such as push-ups for the most part, so a gym wasn't entirely necessary. I just liked the atmosphere.

"Do I hear people talking about... _plans?_ "

Kei had approached. Even in the summer, he still draped that black blazer over his shoulders. I started doing it on occasion too, actually.

"Oh, that's right, you would be the best at this!" Hideaki beamed. "Kei, please. Give us ideas for the summer. Work your Ultimate Conspirator magic."

"Obviously, I have ideas, but first," Kei started, before taking a smartphone out of his pocket. "I'm building a group chat. Give me your usernames so we can stay in touch this summer."

"Smart! I knew you'd have something ready. Here, lemme add myself," Hideaki said, with his hand out for the phone.

"Careful, now. I have about half the class in there so far, don't delete it."

"I-I don't know how to feel that you have such little faith in me..."

It was a smart idea. Everyone would be returning home, and the lifestyle that we'd grown accustomed to of seeing each other every single day would be suspended. Admittedly, that was saddening. My time living among the others had already given me better experiences than what I could expect at home. It would only be for a short while, but we still had to make the best of it.

Once I was in the group chat, I took out my own phone to check it out. The absentees were talking with some people in the classroom. I sent an emoticon to announce my presence.

Soon after, my phone rang with a notification, and I checked the group chat to see... nothing, at least nothing yet. I backed out of it and found the notification.

 _Theia: "hi how r u"_

...

"Theia!" I called out across the room to the DJ sitting in the corner on her phone, "Why are you private messaging me when I'm literally right here!?"

All this did was make Yuki break out into laughter from nearby her. "Maybe adding each other on social media wasn't the best idea," I muttered through a sigh.

"The hell's going on over there?" Kazuya asked from somewhere behind us, looking up from his notebook. "It's too early for you all to be this loud."

"Kazuya, you need more energy! Besides, the sun has been up for hours!" cried out Yoshio. He'd been in class more since practice was put on hold for the summer.

"That's right, you probably woke up around, what, six o'clock today?"

"Nope! Five-thirty!"

"I see."

Mariko was nearby, standing up leaned against her desk in a relaxed posture. "Hey, if you guys come up with anything, make sure you invite me too. I'll keep an eye on that group chat. I know if I don't I'll just be playing too many video games all summer."

"'Too many'?" Warren parroted. "But you were the best opponent I've faced in any fighting game... hmph. Fine, then. I'll just have to practice so I can face you again."

"What the hell? You guys already have a rivalry?" Tsutomu asked, hearing the conversation. He was leaning back in his chair. "I dunno what console you two are on, but you better add me sometime."

"Just make sure you get out a lot though, okay?" Mizuki commented. "I wanna go on adventures with you guys this summer! We have to spend our nights out!"

"I wonder if 'adventures' is expecting a bit much..." I said aloud, and scratched the back of my neck sheepishly.

 _'This...'_

 _'My life has changed so much in the last three months.'_

 _'To think that just before April I didn't know any of these people.'_

 _'And now...'_

 _'Now I have some of the best friends I could ask for.'_

 _'I know they think that of each other, too.'_

 _'I know we'll have a good summer.'_

We did.

We made sure of it.

When any of us were absent from the group chat for too long, someone would send a message to make sure things were okay. Sure, some of us weren't as interested in spending that much time outside, but it never felt like we spent too long apart.

I never did invite anyone to the Ryuzaki-gumi's house, not necessarily feeling comfortable enough considering the circumstances. But even though I went back to sleeping there, I spent more time out of it than in. Akuma and I still met on occasion for food, but without class to take up the time, it meant lunch would be our post-workout meal rather than dinner. Every so often, I met Elliot at that comic book store. Sometimes, they were Eli, with a ponytail and a hoodie. But other times, they were Ellie, with their hair loose and wearing a school uniform skirt - shortly after I met them in April, I found out they were the genderfluid fan writer that I thought they were. Elliot was simply their birth name. Theia had more time to work on her music once the vacation began, and within the first week, finished mastering the song I had a verse in and released it. I didn't realize that the proceeds of this specific song would be donated to charity, but that was fine; it ended up going viral and I wouldn't have known what to do with the royalty cheques anyway. Fumie started teaching me tips about card games, and while I thought I learned it all from my father, there was clearly more to learn, and we proceeded to team up against the 84th Class whenever we happened to be together around a deck of cards. Mizuki would randomly message us to hang out once the sun was going down, and I was usually available. In between all of this, I spent a fair amount of time playing video games with either Warren, Tsutomu, Mariko, or a combination of all of the above.

Sadly, I couldn't get as close as I would've liked with Marine or Kazuya. You can't win 'em all, I suppose. At the very least, Marine never did threaten me again.

The summer finally concluded when...

...

...Dammit. I'm still having a hard time with my memories.

But I know now.

I know where I was, before I was _here._

Before I woke up in this hotel, it was the last summer evening before we moved back into the dorms.

I know we enjoyed ourselves. We went out somewhere, _all_ of us. All nineteen. Yeah, even Marine and Kazuya showed up. I remember a black sky and a light breeze on a warm night. I remember laughing without a care in the world. I remember the bittersweet emotions I felt when I realized that the summer was at its end, and what I felt when I then realized I'd be returning to class with people I cared for. I remember long conversations where we shared our hopes and dreams and fears and secrets. I remember how grateful I was when I thought about how I'd never been close like this with anyone, let alone an entire class. I remember falling on the mattress that night with my heart full, knowing rest would come easily.

I just don't remember the _details_ of that night. Everything is still foggy.

I don't want to forget. How could I have forgotten any of this? I barely remembered going to Hope's Peak at all when my eyes first opened.

Is there anything else I'm forgetting? There must be, right? Clearly, there's a gap between that night and waking up in this city today.

I have to find out what happened.

I have to get back to my friends, so we can go back home. We still need to complete the second term, after all.

My life at Hope's Peak can't end like this.

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 **[A/N: Welcome to the end of the prologue!**

 **Say hello to:**

 **Mizuki Akiyama - Ultimate Eye Model [CandiedStars]**

 **Tsutomu Kiyomizu - Ultimate Toxicologist [zephryr]. I know that's probably a hell of a talent to not go in-depth on, but that will come soon enough. Establishing his character was important for me in his scene. :)**

 **Kazuya Watanabe - Ultimate Horror Author [TJMike]**

 **Ada-Marie Christina Talbot - Ultimate Historian [TheRoseShadow21]. There was something important regarding this character: I'm a slight bit worried that the name "Marie" can be confused with "Marine", as in, the information broker who introduced herself by threatening someone as opposed to the angel that Marie is. Maybe it's because something similar to this happened in a past fic of mine, but I just wanna make sure that doesn't happen. Let me know in your review if this gets confusing. If enough people say yes, I'll begin to refer to her in narration as "Ada-Marie". I'm really hoping this isn't necessary, though.**

 **Lucille DuCarde - Ultimate F-1 Racer [dashunterman]. Shoutout to Lucille, because her and a character of mine were accepted into the same SYOC a while back.**

 **And that's it! That's the entire 19 person cast! This is wild.**

 **Now that you've seen everyone, who is your favorite? This is a bit unfair because not everyone has had the same amount of screentime (looks at Yoshio) but I'm still curious to know what the preliminary thoughts are before things continue. I'll start a poll on the forum (link in bio) as soon as I figure out how to do that, so you can go check it out and vote for your favorite character. I have to say, the fact that this story is no longer a nice and peaceful slice of life thing makes me quite sad ;-; I will miss you, chapter -1. And to think I wasn't going to write it until a couple thousand words into a first draft of chapter 0-1.**

 **Speaking of, I don't have an ETA for the next update just yet, but it is in progress. This update being as important as it was - closing off the prologue - I wanted to get it out sooner rather than later. As always, check the discussion forum for updates, or even just to say hello.**

 **Thanks for sticking around.]**


	7. chapter 0-1

**\- WARNING -**

 **\- This story will contain spoilers for Danganronpa 1, 2, 3, and V3.**

 **-** **Viewer discretion is advised:** **this story may contain detailed depictions of violence.**

 **-** **Viewer discretion is advised:** **this story will contain major character death.**

 **\- If necessary, there will be future warnings, and/or the rating will be changed to M.**

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 **chapter 0-1**

* * *

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When I stepped out into the carpeted hallway and saw Theia face to face, I felt a sense of nostalgia and sadness. Seeing her again began to slowly dissipate the heavy fog that had settled in over my memories of the last four months, but alongside that nostalgia, I also felt a strong fear. Something told me that considering the circumstances, I should be extremely grateful that she was okay, and something terribly wrong could happen at any moment. I thought that if I took my eyes off her for a second, she would be snatched away, and with her, my memories.

"Mister Ryuzaki? You seem to be spacing out," she spoke.

 _'You're right. I am.'_

 _'There's no time for this.'_

Instead of replying, my eyes darted from side to side for the exit. I quickly noticed the elevator sign behind Theia.

"Come on," I said hurriedly, "let's go!" I was still having trouble using my voice, and the words came out dry.

Even with the fear and confusion still lapping at my brain, I was checking corners for somebody to jump out with a confetti popper to yell 'surprise'; and when that didn't happen, I blinked repeatedly in an attempt to wake myself up. Terrifyingly, that didn't happen either. I wasn't convinced yet, but the possibility of this being reality was growing ever more likely.

The hallway expanded into a wide, circular area, with several other hallways extending in different directions. A marble plaque was installed next to each one, detailing where they went. Most read nothing but suite numbers.

"Ah, here! This one," Theia said. She suddenly grabbed my wrist with a force I wasn't expecting, and led me to the hallway she found. Sure enough, there were elevators on either wall - the relief was immense, but it wouldn't be enough until I was home. She quickly called for a lift to take us down, with her grip on my arm being loosened by only a fraction.

We had to wait for a while, in eerie silence. No hotel I'd ever been in was this quiet. There was always that one group of tourists who were already drunk before they made it downstairs, or at the very least, traffic horns and running engines outside.

 _'To think we're the only ones here...'_

 _'That's impossible, isn't it?'_

"Oh, god."

Theia finally broke the silence in quiet distress.

"Just what is this?" she asked aloud, looking up at me then at our surroundings. "Where _are_ we? Why is no one else here?"

"I - I don't know," I replied. I wasn't able to look her in the eye. Even though I was beginning to remember growing quite close to Theia, I'd never seen her grow desperate like this, and the sight was painful.

"Please... please, anyone!" Theia called out. She stepped away from me, letting go of my wrist to cup her hands around her mouth (above her mask) to shout down the hallway. "Somebody come out here and explain, please!"

"Theia, please, don't," I pleaded, even though I didn't blame her in the slightest. "We're gonna figure this out, alright? Bet you it's just a prank. That's the only reasonable explanation."

"A prank, Mister Ryuzaki?" Theia asked, turning back around to face me. "Just what kind of prank would rob us of our memories and leave us in an empty hotel? There is _nothing_ reasonable about this!"

 _'Dammit...'_

 _'Dammit! She's right!'_

 _'What the hell is going on here!?'_

Eventually, one of the elevators arrived. We were inside as soon as the doors were open enough to allow us, and I immediately pressed the 'ground' button.

I didn't pay attention to what floor we had just left, or how long the ride was. My mind was not in that elevator, rather, it had seemingly detached itself from my physical form to protect itself from whatever it was about to see. I did everything I could to bring it back so I could focus on my missing memories - but nothing was working. Nothing _would_ work, not until more information came. Even then, I had to wonder if it was already too late for my memories to return, like a dream just out of my grasp.

The elevator descended with no sound but the rhythmic chugging of the mechanics lowering us. Finally, the doors slid open.

Theia and I exited the elevator into another hallway, with walls and flooring of marble polished to a sheen, reflecting the bright yellow spotlights beating upon us from the high ceiling. The contrast in atmosphere from the carpeting and dim lighting above was quite a shock. With haste, we ran into the lobby.

The lobby was vast and extensive, with massive black pillars supporting a second storey accessed by a spiraling staircase. A balcony from above looked down on the main reception area. Over both floors was the ceiling, a minimum of thirty feet overhead, spotted with dozens (potentially hundreds) more spotlights. Established in the ceiling's direct center was a massive round light fixture covered by many triangular-shaped glass panes, surrounded by a line of light. Everything was blinding, especially as it all reflected off the uncannily stainless tiled floors. There appeared to be several directions one could take, but the architecture was generally centered around the long reception desk at the back, sitting in front of a felt violet curtain. In front of the desk itself was a waiting area with a few different sofas and loveseats in a lilac shade.

More importantly, the rest of the 84th Class was scattered around the lobby. I recognized our classmates, and I could tell right away they were as confused and upset as we were. Shouting and yelling came from the reception desk while others were trying to work something out.

Warren, standing among a group in the waiting area, spotted Theia and I approaching and came up to us with worry in his eyes.

"Hey," he greeted with caution, "oh, man. You two are alright?"

"I- I _suppose_ , but I don't know what's - Warren, what the hell is all this?" I asked, gesturing to the grand decorations surrounding us.

"None of us have a damn clue. But with you guys, the whole class is here now. I guess it's good we're all together," Warren replied. He turned his head to look behind him at everyone spread about the lobby.

I did the same, and I eyed a set of glass doors. "The entrance. It's open or locked?"

"Open."

I blinked.

"Ah! Let's go!" Theia exclaimed, eyes widening. She nearly broke off to run to the doors.

"Hang on. Hiroto, ah..." Warren said, reestablishing eye contact with me. He made a gesture towards the reception desk and said, "Something is going on over there, and I feel like you might wanna take a look."

I'd been hearing shouting for some time, but I didn't think anything of it. It _was_ justified, and after all, my mind was still out to lunch. Still, I tried to tune in and see what exactly was happening.

 _'...'_

 _'...?'_

"Warren," I started.

"Yeah?"

"Who the hell is that?"

"...Yeah. Nobody recognizes her."

Behind the long, mahogany reception desk, was a woman that I swore I'd never seen before. I was aware that my memory was not functioning at full capacity, but I had at least recognized Theia, even if it took a while. The stranger gave me no sense of deja vu like the others. On our side of the desk were a few of our classmates attempting to talk with her, and from this distance, it seemed tensions were high.

"Hiroto, you're the Ultimate Peacekeeper, right?" Warren asked, "Can you do anything?"

"I'll see what I can do. Theia, do you want to-"

"Come on!"

I was about to ask her if she wanted to head outside, but before I knew it, she grabbed my arm again and began dragging me to the desk. I scrambled into a sprint so not to trip over myself.

 _'I'm pretty sure she did this before, too... I'll have to just get used to it again.'_

Akuma stood tall over the desk, with his hands balled into fists on the shining surface. Perhaps it was because I'd never seen him in this type of situation, but the way he towered over it made him appear larger and scarier than I remember ever seeing him (the scars across his face didn't help either). He shouted obscenities and threats at the stranger, and next to him were Ashlynn and Lucille, both appearing just as hot-headed.

As for the stranger herself, she seemed close to our age, maybe a few years older at most. Her eyes were vivid, an unnatural and unnerving yellow, on a fair skinned face under a black baseball cap. The hat hid locks of bright red hair that ended in abrupt points, as if she cut it short herself. She wore a white dress shirt tucked into stone grey pants, kept up by olive green suspenders. Around her collar was a skinny tie with the base color the same as the suspenders, but it was adorned with a pattern of colorful flowers, twisting and turning up into the knot. She sat in a fold-up chair and leaned back, watching Akuma swear at her in amusement. My gut didn't know how to react - on one hand, she appeared completely innocent, but something was setting off alarms that just couldn't be ignored.

 _'Is_ this _our captor?'_

"Hey! Who are you?" Theia suddenly interjected, running up to the desk and putting her hands on it like Akuma. Considering the fact that Akuma was well over six feet Theia wasn't even close to breaking five, the intimidation factor just wasn't quite comparable.

"Huh?" the stranger said, her face falling flat. "Who is this... sassy lost child?"

"What the hell? That's Theia, not a child! Apologize!" Akuma retorted.

"Yeah! Theia, don't listen to her," Ashlynn said, turning to her, "this girl is _so_ annoying!"

"A shame," Lucille spoke with crossed arms and closed eyes, "I may have taken her to dinner under different circumstances."

"Lucy, sis, you're too much of a flirt, and that's coming from me..."

 _'This is not how I imagined this confrontation would go.'_

"Alright, sorry, I'm butting in," I said, trying to fit myself in between Akuma and Theia. I decided I'd leave my hands by my side instead of trying to intimidate the stranger. "I really would love to know - who are you, exactly?"

"My name is **Akira.** Akira **Nishimoto.** Does that help?" she responded with a grin.

 _'Not really, but if that's your real name, then thanks for making the police report much easier.'_

"To be blunt, Akira, I hadn't meant to ask for your name. I was inquiring as to the reason why I didn't recognize you, and you're sitting behind the desk like you're an employee at this empty hotel."

"You're Hiroto, right?"

"Huh?" I raised a brow.

"Right," she said, standing up out of her seat. She crossed her arms. "Can I call you Hiro? I'm gonna call you Hiro."

"No, I would rather you didn't do that—"

"Hiro, I'm gonna ask you to do something for me. I need you to think about something for a minute," she said, her voice growing serious.

"Can you quit playing games? I'm—"

"I want you to reaaaaally think about what you just said to me. That you don't recognize me, and I'm standing over here behind the desk."

"I don't underst—"

"Hiro, you should consider the wild and inane possibility that I am an employee at this hotel."

Akira had this big, toothy grin on her face, and that combined with her sarcastic tone told me everything I needed to know about her.

"That was rude!" Theia protested, coming to my aid.

I sighed aloud. "It's alright. I may disagree with her tone, but I learned something useful, just now."

"If you work here," Theia said with her attention toward Akira, "then, are you our kidnapper?" Her voice was laden with disbelief, and I felt the same.

"No," Akira said right away. She had become closely interested in her nails, which she idly inspected as we all stood around.

"I figured. However, you don't disagree that we've been kidnapped?" I asked.

"Why the fuck would I do that?" Akira cursed, and this time it was her turn to raise a brow. She looked up from her nails at me. "You didn't come here willingly, did ya? If you did, then there's a real problem here, and we're gonna have to deal with that."

"N-No, I didn't come here willingly, and I am fairly certain _that_ is the problem!" I retorted with a building exasperation.

"For you, I guess."

I had to pause. If I replied right away, I likely would've insulted her greatly, and I did not want to lose an opportunity to gain information. Even if it costed every ounce of my rapidly declining energy reserves.

"Are you _working_ with our kidnapper?" I eventually decided to ask, although it came out like a deadpan statement.

"Oh, yeah," she confirmed. She went back to her nails.

"You understand that's what I meant when I asked 'who are you', correct?"

Akira smiled again. "You're fun. For the 'Peacekeeper', you get mad pretty easily."

"Excuse me—"

"Why are you doing this!?" Theia yelled, cutting me off. She startled me, in fact. "Explain!"

"Chill, kid. They're getting everything set up as we speak," Akira replied.

"And just who are 'they'? What are they 'getting set up'?" I asked.

"They' are 'they', and _everything_ is 'getting set up'."

"Ugh. I can't spend another minute around her," Ashlynn groaned, putting her hand to her forehead in a dramatic fashion. "I'm done. C'mon, Lucy." With that, she turned and walked away. Lucille followed.

Akuma continued to glare at the stranger for another moment, before finally letting his hands off the table. He gave me a glance from the side with narrowed eyes, and the look said a lot. I returned the glance. When Akuma took this to mean I understood, he stepped away without a word.

"The hell was that?" Akira hollered, pointing at Akuma's distancing back. "Can you two fuckin' communicate telepathically or somethin'? Hey, don't lie to me!"

I left as well. I didn't pay attention to Akira's continued barrage of swears, nor where Theia went, but instead met Akuma at the doors.

He gestured for me to come close to whisper something to me. "Hey, my memory's pretty fried right now, but we worked out a lot before, didn't we?" he asked.

"I think so. I started working out at home at some point," I said, returning the hushed tone.

"You also told me about taking martial arts classes, right?"

"...Oh, that's right. Yes, I went back to it in the summer. I don't remember it well, but-"

"Alright, c'mon, let's go check out what's getting set up."

He turned away again, stoically heading outside.

 _'Those may as well be two entirely different topics. What's he expecting out there?'_

I frowned, but I couldn't blame him for being cautious. I was about to follow until there was a tug at my sleeve.

"I'm coming with you." Theia was there, again.

"You sure about this?" I asked, raising a brow. "You might be safer inside, with everyone here."

She shook her head. "Don't worry about me. I'm stronger than I look."

 _'You really don't look strong at all, so I'd hope so...'_

"Come, Mister Ryuzaki!" she said, dragging me behind her as she went through the doors. In that moment, I decided to trust that she knew what she was talking about.

Since the adrenaline in my body wasn't as intense as it was when I woke up, I felt the full brunt of the wind and considered if I should've brought a jacket from the closet. The evening breeze felt like I'd returned to the beginning of spring again. Though, this may have had to do with the architecture surrounding us, as when Theia and I stepped out of the hotel, we found ourselves among a jungle of highrises and skyscrapers. Each building was generic as the last, all lacking any sort of descriptor such as a logo or company. The hotel simply had the word 'HOTEL' in luminous neon lights, but that was the only sign around. And as I saw from my balcony, the streets were completely bare. Not a single vehicle in sight in both directions of the long four-lane road before us. There wasn't even a piece of discarded trash anywhere, like I'd expect in a city like this. I had to wonder if I was wrong - perhaps rather than the population emptying before our arrival, there was simply never a population to begin with.

I spotted Akuma looking up at the front of a building. He heard us coming and turned his eyes to us for only a moment, before his focus returned.

"Look at that," he said simply, pointing upward.

He was pointing at a large security camera that was jutted out of the wall in what seemed to be an entirely random spot. Near it were several other cameras on the same wall, pointing in all different directions. It was a mess. One was even watching the skies. The wiring for the cameras also appeared quite amateurish, loosely hanging off the wall and exposed in some points.

"That building across the street has the same thing. And a couple more down the road, too," Akuma explained.

"Strange..." Theia whispered in curiosity.

"Why is it such a hack job?" I wondered aloud.

"Dunno. I'm more worried about why there's so many cameras, though," Akuma commented.

"Yeah. Dystopian, isn't it?" I muttered.

"It has to be our captors," Theia said, suddenly very confident in herself. She softly brought a fist down on her open palm as the idea came to her.

"Of course. They're probably watching us right now," Akuma said in agreement.

 _'But how? This wouldn't be allowed unless the owners of the properties gave the okay to tamper with them, right? I guess the answer to that is the same to why the rest of the city is empty, though...'_

The three of us kept moving. I don't think we knew what we were looking for, or what we could expect to find. Was it going to be a police station? If so, would anyone be there to help us? Or maybe we would run into our captors - then what? What if they weren't as open as Akira and resorted to violence? Is that why Akuma asked about my martial arts training?

Am I really in danger?

 _'Danger...?'_

I realized the last time I felt like my life was in danger like this was at the peace talks with the Matzushitas. As I walked through the empty streets, head twisting from side to side looking for something, anything, my thoughts decided to be completely unhelpful and return to that night. An intrusive thought of Chika came into mind, holding the remains of her wounded eye together-

 _'Stop.'_

 _'You can't do this right now.'_

 _'It wasn't your fault. She even told you that, dozens of times.'_

"Mister Ryuzaki?" Theia asked, realizing that I'd slowed down.

"I'm alright. Let's go."

Soon after, we hit a dead end and ran into two more of our classmates.

"Kaz, Kei, that you guys?" Akuma asked aloud as we approached from behind.

Sure enough, the two turned around, and Kazuya and Kei faced us. "Ah, and so the plot continues on," Kazuya commented, with a strange snicker at the end. "Greetings, you three."

"You look like you're in high spirits," I observed.

"Why, of course! Ever since I awoke in that hotel room, the creative gears in my mind have been churning without fail," Kazuya replied, nodding. "Yes, I already have an abundance of ideas for my next novel."

"Really? Like what?" Theia asked with what seemed like a burning curiosity.

"No, no, that's alright Kazuya," I interjected before he had the chance to respond, which he looked far too excited to do. "We can talk about that another time. For now - what exactly are we looking at, here?"

"Oh, this?" Kei prompted, turning his head to face the dead end. "Why don't you come see for yourself? C'mon, touch it."

In front of us was a sturdy chain link fence about ten feet tall, topped with rolling barbed wire across the entire width of the street. Looking at the polished, sharp points was enough to give me goosebumps. And if it wasn't for that, then the pulsating waves of electricity striking through the metal would probably do it.

"No!" Theia exclaimed, suddenly. She stood herself in front of me and made an 'X' with her arms. "Don't do it, Mister Ryuzaki. That's an electric fence."

"Yes, I noticed."

"So we're closed in, huh?" Akuma muttered. "Damn. If it wasn't for the electricity, we could've made it over."

"The barbed wire?" I pointed out, raising a brow.

"What about it? The rugs and curtains back in the rooms are heavy enough. We can head back, grab those to cover the barbed wire," he said, with his arms crossed as he looked up at the fence.

"You're... way too confident about that."

"I _am_ talking from experience."

"Well, I'm glad we're discussing how we plan to escape, but before we start trying to disable the electricity or whatever it is you're thinking," Kei began, "climbing over is still not an option. Akihiro is wheelchair-bound, and the luxury make is likely quite heavy to carry over a ten foot fence."

"What about Yoshio, then? I'm sure the brute could carry _all_ of us," Kazuya stated.

"We could also turn around and go the other way," I said, slightly exasperated. "This is just one dead end, and we've passed a few intersections from the hotel to here. Let's discover all of our bounds before we try climbing an electric fence with barbed wire."

"You know our kidnappers aren't going to want us to leave, right?" Akuma asked coldly, "They could be armed. Probably waiting for us."

"Fair point. Perhaps this is a trap," Kazuya considered.

"Um, excuse me," Theia piped up, "I'm worried about everyone else. Can we just go back to the hotel for now?"

"Good idea. I'm getting cold anyway," I agreed.

"A wise decision. Let's continue this conversation inside, shall we?" said Kei, before taking the lead.

For a few moments, everything was quiet as we traced our steps back to the hotel. We didn't share theories or ask about what we didn't remember, but observed our surroundings, attempting to piece it all together. As much as I tried, however, nothing was coming to mind. No landmark reminded me of where I could've been. There weren't any signs or even advertisements in the bus stops, and I still had to wonder if this was a dream and perhaps my brain just couldn't come up with a detailed logo.

We finally regrouped in the lobby. The group itself was much smaller - we were told a few people split off to check out the rest of the lobby or head outside. Yoshio was off by himself, inspecting the fire equipment. Akira sat behind the desk looking bored, flipping through the pages of an old, worn out book. If I didn't know any better, I'd say she was just another one of us.

"We found this earlier," Marie spoke to us. In her hand was some sort of brochure. "Take a look."

'Yamanuha', it read, in large letters across the cover.

"It's strange. If you look at this page, here..." she said, opening it up to show a picture of a tall building. Passing by the glass doors was a crowd of people. "Look at the sign."

Over top the doors was a neon sign that read out the name of a familiar company, attached to the word 'hotel'.

"Ah," I said in realization, "I know this company. I've stayed at their hotels before. But this building...?"

"Right. Now, I know the picture is small, but can you see through the doors here?" Marie asked, pointing past the pictured crowd.

It was difficult at first, but the lighting inside the building made it easier, as it appeared just as bright as the lobby we all stood in. In fact, that wasn't the only thing that lined up with the lobby.

"Interesting. That's the reception desk, is it not?" Kazuya said.

Sure enough, the purple curtains behind the desk were easily visible in the picture. I glanced up to the real thing in front of me to confirm.

"Yes. I think it's safe to say this is the same building we woke up in," Marie said.

"Wait! But, what about the sign?" Theia asked, unsatisfied with the answer. "It's not the same sign outside at all."

"Well, I took a look outside earlier, and it seemed like all the signs were replaced or removed, likely including the one on this building. The rest of the building appeared identical, as well," Marie explained.

"I have to agree. Note the balconies in the picture - just like the ones connected to our rooms," Kazuya added.

"Don't say 'our' rooms. We're not staying here, so they're not ours," Akuma suddenly stated. I agreed with the sentiment.

"Let's talk about that then, shall we? 'Here' is, what did the cover say again?" Kei asked.

"Yamanuha," Marie answered.

 _'Yamanuha...'_

"It's familiar," I nodded, in thought. "But it's a ways away from Tokyo, isn't it?"

"Can't be too far. It better not be, because I have nothing to write with here," Kazuya said. He truly seemed dismayed about that.

 _'Kaz, that novel of yours better be a bestseller.'_

"Hey, it's a good thing that brochure was in Japanese. We could've been out of the country, for all we knew," Akuma pointed out. "Good find, Marie."

We did learn something new, but we barely got to discuss it before things finally began.

The lights unexpectedly went black. Darkness carpeted the lobby.

"What the-" I started.

"Hey! Get ready!" Akuma shouted.

"Mister Ryuzaki?" Theia said, grabbing on to my sleeve again.

"Woah! Everyone, stay calm!" I heard Yoshio's booming voice, projecting across the lobby. Screams and shouts followed.

My body went cold, as my eyes darted around the room, desperately searching for something to grasp on to, but finding nothing. Even the streetlights outside went dark, as the only illumination we had was the moonlight through the windows. The adrenaline and the goosebumps immediately came back - in fact, it was like they never went anywhere - as my eyes finally began to adjust. I scanned for a threat, now crucially aware of the situation, waiting for something to come out.

"Theia, stay close," I blurted. I wasn't sure why I said that to her in particular, but thankfully, she was doing so regardless.

"Akira? What's happening!?" Lucille cried.

As she did, the emergency lights came on, showering us in a dim crimson. TV screens around the lobby came to life with static at the same time. And through the speakers, a siren. The siren was shrill, sending shivers through the bones of my fingers all the way up my arms to my teeth and down my legs to my toes. It repeated itself like a tornado warning, but with an exponentially louder volume. I instinctively raised an arm to cover my ear, but resisted and kept it by my side, worried I'd need it free for whatever was about to come.

When the sirens stopped, they were replaced with a voice. A voice that filled the room with a strength that shook the ground and instilled nothing but dread.

 **"Good evening, Class 84th."**

Surely, it was through a voice changer. The distortion and crackle confirmed it; it was almost comical in how obvious it was. Clearly, however, whoever spoke wasn't trying to hide it, and nothing about the situation could've elicited a laugh out of me.

"H-Huh!? Who is that!?" Yuki exclaimed, prompting Theia to look over to her in concern.

"Oh man, oh man. It's happening," Mizuki said. She sounded scared, but still trying to remain positive. "We'll be okay, everyone!"

 **"You are all invited to a special ceremony. Your escort has arrived in front of the hotel."**

"'Escort'? To where, huh!?" Akuma yelled out, already balling his hands into fists. "Why don't you just show yourself!?"

 **"Report to your escort immediately. Resistance will be met with punishment. Do not resist."**

The voice spoke in a straightforward, punctual fashion. Each sentence conveyed nothing more than the necessary information, and this was done with such an authority that I had barely considered that resistance was an option.

It became almost silent again as the TVs shut off with the emergency lights, and the room-filling power of the voice vanished. The regular lights popped back on.

"Ooookay, everyone!" Akira exclaimed, "It's time! Get yer asses outside already, you heard all that just now, didn't ya?"

"I refuse. I will not give in to any of your demands," Lucille spoke, her voice true with conviction.

"Yeah, fuck that," Akuma agreed, "Just try and stop me, but I'm not getting on that 'escort'."

Akira sighed, as if to just dismiss our reluctance like we were stubborn children. "I mean, fine. If you don't want to, that's your choice, really. But can't ya just step outside at least? You'll see why you'd be better off listenin'."

"Bullshit," Akuma stated, flatly.

With that, most of the class began showing themselves from whichever corner of the lobby they veered off to. "What's- what's going on?" Eli asked, pushing the wheelchair of an annoyed Akihiro from a long hallway. Fumie came down the twirling staircase with Marine lagging behind, and for the split second I caught her face, there seemed to be a sly smile on the former's. Knowing her, she was probably just excited for things to begin.

We were still missing a few, and just as I tried to piece together who they were, the doors opened from behind. I quickly spun around to see Hideaki standing between them, a worried expression accompanying his paling face.

"Oh, there you all are," he said, with bated breath, "You guys gotta come outside. Warren, Tsutomu, Mariko, uh... Ashlynn, they're- they're all on the bus already. C'mon."

Before I even had the chance to respond, Hideaki turned on his heel and walked past what we could see through the doors.

"A bus, huh? Well, let's go," said Kazuya, shrugging as he followed Hideaki out.

"Do not be so hasty!" Yoshio protested. Poor guy, I could see him trying to think of what to do; he clearly didn't want to listen, but it seemed he was starting to believe there was no other choice. I mean, if our own classmate was telling us to come outside, then things must be pretty bad out there.

"Let me go first," he eventually continued once he came to a conclusion. He walked up to the doors. "Stay behind me, and you'll be safe."

Sighing, Akuma walked past him and headed outside.

 _'Dammit, don't be a hero, you two.'_

Still, I respected that Yoshio did technically volunteer to take the lead. We agreed it was finally time to go.

Once we were outside, the first thing we saw was Akuma on the pavement, wrestling with...

 _'What the hell? What is that?'_

I wish I was imaginative enough to come up with something like this, but Akuma was losing a struggle against what appeared to be a _robot,_ shaped like a monochromatic teddy bear. One half was a matte carbon fiber, the other a shiny pearl white, almost like porcelain. That half looked normal enough, with a single black beady eye and all, but the other was far more sinister, with a glowing red slash for an eye and an evil, stretched grin of fangs. I didn't know what to make of the thing until I remembered the black and white keycard and 'Monopad' I found in that hotel room. I figured they had to be connected to this black and white bear, and that sense of dread returned.

It spiked until it was all I felt when I looked around and realized we were surrounded by dozens - no, most likely hundreds - of the bears. They weren't all the same; some held miniature riot shields, some had wailing sirens attached to their head, others wore bulletproof vests and helmets, and the rest were like the image in front of us.

"Akuma!" Yoshio shouted, as we broke into a sprint toward the scene.

However, before we could get there, the bear pinning down Akuma raised a paw to release a set of sharp claws that glinted in the moonlight, and sliced down towards him.

Akuma let out a pained hiss, and I saw that his arms holding the bear back were about to give out until Yoshio rushed in to deliver a straight kick at it. It fell hard, but in just moments, was back up with ease.

"Oi, what the hell?" said Akira, nonchalantly making her way through the crowd to observe. "Kuma, standby."

The bear, about to go in for the attack once more, froze in place before retracting its claws - in response to Akira, I imagined. We watched in silence as it simply retreated into the crowd, disappearing amongst its clones.

"You tried resisting, didn't ya?" Akira asked, frowning. She crossed her arms.

Akuma failed to respond, instead gingerly taking a finger to his chest, where I saw shredded fabric surrounding a single long cut. Thankfully, his finger didn't come back with blood.

"What's it gonna take for y'all to listen, anyway? Don't you realize what's going on here yet?" Akira asked, shaking her head in disappointment. "Just get on the bus already."

Only steps away now was the bus in question. At first glance, it appeared like any generic streetcar. I never did take the transit much; if I ever needed to be somewhere, it was usually in someone's SUV anyway, so I didn't quite know what to expect. However, once we were closer, I realized it wasn't just a generic streetcar anyway. I noticed the spiderwebs of cracks through the glass windows, and the thick layers of dirt caked within the tires. Splotches of dark red and brown covered the frame behind each wheel.

 _'That... doesn't look like an old ketchup stain, does it...'_

Reluctantly, I boarded. I decided to just ignore the driver (another bear, this one wearing a collared shirt and tie) and find a seat.

Inside was everyone Hideaki mentioned before, so once the group outside settled in, Class 84th's nineteen person roster was all accounted for. The ground was littered with, well, _litter,_ and lots of it _-_ coffee cups, rotten food, torn newspapers, the like. The rotting food did a lot to create a stench inside the bus, and once the doors shut, it became harder to ignore.

We began moving.

Across from my seat was Akuma, who sat between Mizuki on one side and Tsutomu on the other. "Hey, you okay?" Mizuki asked, speaking softly.

"Hurts, yeah, but I've been through worse," Akuma replied, "it's just a scratch." He was clearly trying to wave it off, but something in his voice betrayed him and told me he was trying hard to hide it.

"I mean, that looks pretty bad," Tsutomu commented, leaning forward to observe from the side, "I don't think I'm gonna bother those things. Hell no."

Akuma returned nothing but a glare.

"What? I'm just saying. We should probably leave them alone, they're probably capable of much more than that," Tsutomu said, shrugging.

 _'Just what were those things? And what else are they capable of?'_

 _'Akuma's probably lucky he made it out with a cut... if that bear was at anything less than arm's length, those claws would've easily went deeper.'_

I tuned out of the conversation, glancing about the bus. People were huddled into different groups in different parts of the bus, some holding their own conversations, others trying to just hold it together. I also realized Theia had sat next to me.

 _'I don't know how long this ride will be, but I'd like to hear everyone's thoughts before we get there.'_

"I'll be back," I said to Theia, standing up out of my seat. She nodded, and I heard Yuki start talking to her from her side.

I grabbed the overhead rail for support as I stepped through the trembling vehicle, watching my step around the garbage on the floor. I saw a group by the front, and decided to see how things were with them.

"Hey, Hiro," Warren greeted. I gave a nod in response.

"You guys doing okay?" I asked.

"Well, it was a right proper nuisance getting _this_ damned thing on here," Akihiro spat, tapping on his wheelchair's armrest. "but this decommissioned sardine can had a working ramp, so I guess it wasn't so bad."

"To be honest, I think the ramp almost came off when I was pushing him up," Hideaki said, turning his head to the doors.

"Yep, I wouldn't be surprised if it did. That chair's nothing like I've seen in any hospital, that's for sure," Warren added.

"If I'm going to be confined to it, I might as well do it in luxury, no?" Akihiro frowned.

 _'I admit I've never seen a wheelchair with a leather seat... but, he has a point.'_

"Let's hope our destination is accommodating," I said.

"Hah. We'll see about that," Akihiro laughed, rolling his eyes.

"Yeah. Okay, take care, guys."

I moved on. Next, I decided to check in on Eli, Mariko, and Ashlynn, just as it was getting to the point where all I could hear was the latter of the group.

"...that thing could've _killed_ Akuma! Or any of us!" she exclaimed, to which Mariko agreed.

"H-Hey," I said, trying to force an opening.

"Well hello," Mariko replied, "doing some peacekeeping, Peacekeeper?"

"Yeah, something like that."

"You gotta talk to that Akira girl, Hiroto!" Ashlynn said, pointing a finger at me from her seat. I noticed her eyes were tinged red. "You know how worried I was just now? This- this is horrible!"

"I know. You're right, and I'll do what I can," I stated, before looking away for a moment. I was thinking about how afraid I was as well - if Yoshio didn't step in, and if Akira didn't stop the bear either, I wasn't sure what I'd have done. Probably enough nothing to lose my 'Peacekeeper' title.

"It's so strange. This all feels like a manga," Eli commented quietly from the window seat, looking through the broken glass.

"I wish that's all this was," I replied.

"Makes you wonder what's up with all those bears. They're robots, right?" Mariko pondered, and fiddled with the choker around her neck.

"I think so. With AI, too," Eli said, turning his head back to face us.

"Robots with AI...? What's all that supposed to mean, anyway?" Ashlynn asked. Her voice was beginning to quiet down, likely due to nerves.

"Well, AI stands for artificial intelligence, which would let them act on their own," Eli explained, and I spotted him lightly tugging at his gloves again, "they can't not be autonomous. There's too many to be controlled remotely."

"Wow. You're smart, y'know? Where did you learn all that?"

"...Um, from video games."

 _'There sure are a lot of gamers in this class.'_

"You're probably right," I said, "now I just wonder who had the money to put all this together."

"Akihiro, maybe. He _is_ a lawyer," Mariko suggested, shrugging. I couldn't tell if she was joking or not.

 _'That's one dangerous accusation, y'know.'_

I said a few more words to them before moving on.

I realized Marine was sitting by her lonesome, at the back of the bus with a pensive expression on her face. It didn't surprise me that she was alone - she spent the summer alone, too. On campus, she'd push away anyone who tried striking up some small talk. And eventually, she even left the group chat we had. We learned that trying to associate with her was, usually, a waste of time.

 _'...'_

So, I approached her, and took the seat across from hers.

She said nothing for a moment, instead watching me with a raised eyebrow. "Ryuzaki," she finally said, "this is a surprise."

"When do you plan to start calling me Hiroto, anyway?" I asked, with what I hoped was a welcoming smile. "It's just you and Theia who call me by last name. She just does that to everyone out of respect, so...?"

"It's not out of respect, I can assure you. The closeness of this class is something I'll simply never understand," she answered.

"Well, you know, you're always invited to be a part of it," I pointed out.

"Too late now. Not with all of this happening," Marine replied, shaking her head.

"Huh? Isn't now, with all of this happening, the perfect time to have allies by your side?" I questioned.

"Don't you realize I could tell you the same thing, then _betray_ you? Don't you realize that _anyone_ here could betray your foolish trust, Ryuzaki?"

"What...?"

"Come now. We don't know who's responsible for this," Marine stated firmly, "so why do you believe it's not one of us? Why should I believe it's not you?"

"That's a terrible way to live. I couldn't be paranoid about everyone - my _friends -_ like that."

"Then you're putting yourself at a disadvantage."

I sighed.

 _'Maybe she has a point.'_

 _'When did I get soft like this, anyway?'_

 _'One of the first things I was taught was to not trust anyone outside of the Ryuzaki family...'_

 _'What happened since then?'_

Before I could respond, the bus suddenly hit the brakes with a squeal, rolling to a stop soon after. I turned my head over my shoulder to see what was going on, and noticed that we seemed to be in an entirely different area of the city. The doors opened with the wheelchair ramps coming down.

"I don't do this often, but I'm going to give you a piece of advice, Ryuzaki," Marine said as she stood from her seat, "swallow that trust of yours. That pride. That sense of heroism you have because the scouts call you a 'Peacekeeper'. We both know that's not what you truly are."

I watched her back as she walked past me, down the steps, and out the doors.

 _'I think... I get the hint.'_

After digesting _that_ whole discussion, I followed the class back outside, where the cold air came face-to-face with mine. We stood around for a moment, not knowing what would come next, until we were finally beckoned by Akira to where we were needed.

There, we would learn the realities of our new situation.

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* * *

 **[A/N:**

 **o**

 **it's happening**

 **Thank you for waiting for this update, and I hope you enjoyed it. I tried to get mostly everyone at least a few lines of screentime in this, but if your character didn't get much, don't worry: they should be covered in 0-2, which I am working on atm. Speaking of chapter 0, I know this specific part was... quite long, but I don't believe the entire chapter will be very long at all. I'm hoping that I can wrap it up shortly and get right into chapter 1 with the first trial.**

 **Another important bit to mention, the story title. I've shortened it to "Danganronpa: Yamanuha". I mentioned a different title before, but, eh, I changed my mind. Besides, the name Yamanuha starts to become more relevant starting with this update right here. Still, I prefer the shortened version over what I had before, which was a weird inside joke/reference to the RP that this is (loosely) based off. So uhh, there's some trivia for you.**

 **I don't have much else to say right now, but 0-2 is in progress, so look out for that. Thanks so much for reading.**


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